Ola to ferry persons with disability to polling booths for free in Karnataka

Lok Sabha 2019

Ola has assigned 270 cabs to the Election Commission.

TNM Staff

Leading app-based cab aggregator Ola has announced that it will provide free service to persons with disabilities (PWD) and will ferry them for free from their residence to the polling booth and back in Bengaluru, Mangaluru and Mysuru on Thursday. This initiative is being carried out in partnership with the office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka, Mangalore Zilla Panchayat, the Bengaluru District Electoral officer and the Commissioner of Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) along with the District Electoral Officer and Commissioner of Mysore Corporation. As part of this free service, Ola has assigned 270 cabs to the Election Commission and they will be made available to ferry PWD voters to polling booths.  Similar free services will be made available for Ballari, Hubbali-Dharwad, Gulbarga and Belagav seats on April 23 in the second phase of the polls. “We are committed to increasing the participation of Persons with Disabilities in the General Elections to Lok Sabha this year and are keen to facilitate their constitutional right to vote. We are grateful to Ola and appreciate their efforts in enabling seamless transportation so that every citizen can go out and vote,” Surya Sen AV, Joint Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka, said in a statement. Ola has set up helpline numbers – 9071464553 / 7624915133 to assist the PWD voters and address any issues that arise. Vishnu Bommareddy, Regional Head – South at Ola said, “The upcoming Lok Sabha elections are the largest democratic elections held in the world and ease of mobility is integral to the effective functioning of the system. In the recent past, we have seen that availability of convenient transport options has resulted in positive voter turnout and we will continue to back initiatives that support the constitutional machinery of the country. We are glad to partner with the local authorities and facilitate hassle-free mobility for every voter in Bengaluru.”

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Bengaluru garment worker allegedly stalked, sexually assaulted by neighbour

Crime

The accused, Harishankar, was arrested on April 13 after allegedly barging into the woman’s home and assaulting her.

Theja Ram

Image for representation

A 20-year-old Bengaluru garment worker was allegedly sexually assaulted by her neighbour after he stalked her for six months. On the evening of April 13, the woman, who is married, was returning home from work when her neighbour, Harishankar, allegedly followed her. At around 5.45 pm, the woman entered her house located in the city’s Arekere, and Harishankar allegedly barged into her home and locked the door from the inside. According to the police, Harishankar told her he loved her and that she had to marry him. When the woman turned down his proposal, Harishankar allegedly dragged her into her own bedroom, pushed her on the bed and allegedly sexually assaulted her. In her complaint, the woman said Harishankar broke two of her fingers and forced himself on her. “I tried to push him away and began screaming loudly,” the woman said, according to the complaint. Two of the woman’s neighbours heard her screams, broke open the door to her house and allegedly rescued her. “As the two men were trying to break open the door, other neighbours had gathered around the house. When they caught hold of Harishankar, the woman’s neighbours thrashed him,” the police told TNM. The woman was taken to the hospital for treatment. Harishankar was arrested on April 13 and remanded to judicial custody, police said. Harishankar allegedly began stalking the newly-married woman after she moved into the house in Bengaluru with husband six months ago. The accused, who lived in a room on the terrace of the house, allegedly followed her on multiple occasions. On April 10, Harishankar allegedly knocked on the woman’s door and told her that he had run out of drinking water. When she went into the kitchen to get water, Harishankar allegedly followed her into the house. He allegedly told her that he loved her and threatened to kill her if she did not say she loves him back. “I had told my husband about this too and he had warned Harishankar. I thought he would stop,” she said in the complaint. Harishankar has been booked under sections 354(A) (wrongful confinement of a woman), 354(D) (stalking), 354(B) (sexual assault), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 506 (criminal intimidation), 448 (trespassing) and 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the IPC.

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‘Producer’ Kumaraswamy forgets he’s a CM, makes veiled threat at actor Yash

Lok Sabha 2019

The Chief Minister was miffed with the actor, who is supporting Mandya candidate Sumalatha against his son Nikhil Kumaraswamy, over an alleged remark.

TNM Staff

HD Kumaraswamy seems to have forgotten he’s the Chief Minister of Karnataka. Instead, it’s his title of ‘Producer’ and role of father that seem to weigh predominantly on his mind. At a recent party meeting of the JD(S) in Mandya, an angry Kumaraswamy lashed out at Sandalwood actor Yash, who is supporting independent candidate Sumalatha against HDK’s son Nikhil Kumaraswamy in the constituency. “Without producers like us, they (actors like Yash) will not be able to survive,” Kumaraswamy said. The context was an alleged comment made by Yash, calling JD(S) a party of thieves. “Some guy named Yash has now come here and is saying that mine is a party of thieves. Even I am a film producer and I cannot believe I agreed to make films with such actors,” said HDK, whose former wife Radhika Kumaraswamy had produced Yash-starrer Lucky. “Without producers like us, they will not be able to survive. Do not believe that everything you see in films is true. What you go through every single day, that is the reality. I had given him respect and also a chance. I understand why the party workers are not raising their voice against people who are making negative statements about me. In every village I see why the party workers are keeping quiet. They don’t want my name to be maligned,” he said. The Chief Minister also took a pot shot at Sumalatha Ambareesh, alleging that she had not wanted Amabareesh’s body to be brought to Mandya for his last rites. “When Ambaressh had died, that lady (referring to Sumalatha) had taken people aside and told them that Ambareesh’s body must not be taken to Mandya at any cost. Now see how she is putting on an act,” he added. Sumalatha, wife of former Congress MP Ambareesh is contesting as an independent with the support of the BJP. Her star campaigners are Kannada actors Darshan and Yash. Over the last two weeks, Yash has been campaigning aggressively on behalf of Sumalatha. Both the Chief Minister and Yash have taken digs at each other whilst campaigning. However, Yash has firmly denied calling JD(S) a party of thieves. “I am always clear in my statements. I never called anyone a thief or any party as the party of the thieves. If anyone proves that I made such a statement, I will bow down to his commands,” Yash told the media on Monday. This is not the first time a JD(S) leader has threatened the careers of actors supporting Sumalatha. Earlier in March, the KR Pete Police had registered an FIR against JD(S) MLA Narayana Gowda for intimidating Yash and Darshan. “It’s because of the people who buy movie tickets that the cinema industry is flourishing. Those in the film industry must respect the people. If they continue to go against us (referring to JD(S)), we will begin an investigation into how they earned so much money. We are running the government, so stay at home respectfully,” he had said. Speculation is rife in Mandya that if Sumalatha loses the elections, actors Yash and Darshan’s career in Sandalwood would be threatened. Political party insiders say that Yash took the risk as he is aspiring to enter politics in Mandya and may even join the BJP after the Lok Sabha elections. Before he became the Chief Minister of Karnataka in 2006, Kumaraswamy ran Channambika Films, a production company. When he became CM, he made his wife Anitha Kumaraswamy the director of the firm. His affidavit filed in 2018 shows he has loaned money to several film production houses including Channambika films and had stated that he had invested Rs 2.89 crore rupees in the production house run by his wife.    

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Over Rs 80 lakh seized in raids on BJP functionaries in Uttara Kannada

Lok Sabha 2019

This is the first major raid conducted on BJP leaders in the state in the run-up to the elections.

Prajwal Bhat

Days before Uttara Kannada district goes to polls, Karnataka Election officials and Income Tax officials have jointly seized more than Rs 80 lakh cash from the homes and vehicles of two BJP functionaries in the constituency. This is the first major raid conducted on BJP leaders in the run-up to the elections. On Monday, Uttara Kannada BJP General Secretary Krishna Rama Devadiga was caught travelling with Rs 9,20,000 in envelopes that contained Rs 5,000 each. Officials suspect that the envelopes were meant to be distributed to voters at the booth level. Flying Squad and Income Tax officials were then tipped off that other BJP functionaries could be hoarding money as well. The residence of Ramakanth V Hegde, a local BJP leader and taluk panchayat president from Sirsi was subsequently raided and Rs 71 lakh in cash was seized. The residence of KG Naik, Uttara Kannada BJP President, was also searched. In all, the officials seized Rs 82.7 lakh in cash and 560 grams of jewellery, including 100 grams of bullion. Sourabh Nayak, Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax and the nodal officer for the district, confirmed the raids and the seizure. Speaking to TNM, an official in the Election Commission refused to comment whether the BJP leaders, whose houses were raided, had links to Union Minister and five-time MP Anantkumar Hegde. He is seeking re-election from the constituency as the BJP candidate.   "We have seized bundles of cash kept in envelopes and we are probing if this was being used to distribute to voters. This will be followed up and brought to its logical conclusion in the court of law," said the official. The raid on the BJP leaders occurred around the same time Income Tax officials conducted search and seizure operations at the residences of the associates of Janata Dal (Secular) leader and Public Works Department (PWD) Minister HD Revanna. Revanna's son, Prajwal Revanna, is contesting the elections as the JD(S) candidate from Hassan. Earlier this month, the campaign office and other locations connected to Bengaluru (Central) Congress candidate Rizwan Arshad were raided. In March, Income Tax officials carried out raids at the ancestral home of Karnataka Minor Irrigation Minister CS Puttaraju of the JD(S) and several other business persons and contractors linked to the JD(S). Several senior Congress leaders have hit out at the Income Tax department for 'selective raids' on Congress leaders and its allies in order to intimidate them before the elections. They have also sought the transfer of the BR Balakrishna, Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Karnataka). The elections in Karnataka will be held in two phases – on April 18 and on April 23. Results will be declared on May 23.  

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Bengaluru airport starts exclusive entry gate for flyers with only hand baggage

Aviation

At present 23% of all travellers carry only hand baggage, the airport said.

TNM Staff

To incentivise flyers who travel light, the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru has opened a new entry gate  - Gate No. 5 - exclusively for passengers with a printed boarding pass and only hand baggage. This gate will not be accessible to passenger trolleys and wheelchairs. The airport, in a statement, said that this measure was in continuation of its innovative services and products to ensure hassle-free and delightful travel experience for its passengers. “The opening of a new gate exclusively for passengers travelling with hand baggage will further improve the overall operational efficiency of the Airport. Passengers will benefit from a quicker passage through the security checkpoints,” the airport said. With nearly 55,000 passengers flying out from the city airport on a daily basis, this dedicated gate promises to improve throughput and reduce the wait time at the security checkpoint. Currently, the number of passengers travelling with only hand-baggage constitutes 23% of total departure traffic and the number has gradually increased. The international airport in Bengaluru was built as a private-public partnership. Private promoters hold 74% (Fairfax 48% and Siemens Projects Ventures 26%) stake in Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL), while the government holds the remaining 26%: Karnataka State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (13%) and Airport Authority of India (13%).’ Kempegowda International Airport is currently the busiest airport in south India and the third largest in the country. This announcement comes after a day when the User Development Fee (UDF) at the airport was being revised based on an Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) amendment, which was issued on April 4. By this, ticket prices for passengers flying out of the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru are set to increase for four months from April 16 onwards. The UDF for domestic departures will be revised from Rs 139 to Rs 306 while the UDF for international departures will increase from Rs 558 to Rs 1,226. The revised charges will be applicable from April 16 to August 16, 2019, after which the UDF charges will revert to the earlier rates.

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Ahead of poll day, EC transfers 4 Bengaluru police officers including an ACP

Lok Sabha 2019

The joint inquiry carried out by Bangalore Regional Commissioner Shivayogi Kalasad and Inspector General of Police Railways D Roopa, found the four to be favouring the ruling alliance.

Soumya Chatterjee

Four mid-rank police officers of Bengaluru police were transferred by the Election Commission late on Tuesday evening based on a high-level inquiry, for favouring one particular political party. The inquiry instituted by the Election Commission and carried out by Bangalore Regional Commissioner IAS, Shivayogi Kalasad and IPS Inspector General of Police Railways Bangalore D Roopa, found the four favouring the ruling alliance in the state. Sources told TNM that formation of IPS-IAS inquiry is unusual and was instituted after previous investigations by the DGP’s office in this case, along with several other cases, was found to be unsatisfactory.  The four officers who were transferred are Assistant Commissioner of Police Ravirprasad P of Yeshwantpura Sub Division, and three inspectors of Jnanabharathi (V Shivareddy), Peenya (Sreenivas VT) and Yeshwanthapura (Mudduraj Y) police stations.     While Raviprasad and Srinivas have been posted in the Crime Investigation Department (CID), Shivareddy and Mudduraj have been transferred to the State Intelligence Department and the Internal Security Division departments respectively. In a report to the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer Sanjeev Kumar, the joint inquiry officers have stated that the “officers are found to be easily registering cases and entertaining complaints on behalf of one political party only and do not receive and look into complaints given by other political parties”. A report by the Public Prosecutor Revanasiddappa submitted to a city court was also used by the inquiry committee, which paved the way for the transfer. The Public Prosecutor noted that while an accused in a land dispute case connected to their favoured party was freely campaigning in Bengaluru North constituency, the officers concerned failed to arrest him. The report added, “From the inquiries, it is ascertained that Raviprasad, ACP, Yeshwanthpur Sub-Division, registered a case against BJP workers in Crime No. 57/2018 of Jalahalli Police Station, while the complaints by BJP was not taken and was bunked. Y Mudduraj, Police Inspector, Yeshwanthpur Police Station, has registered a series of complaints against a BJP nominee.” The report further added, “It has come to notice that the above said officers often accompany the candidate of a particular party during campaigning on the pretext of law and order maintenance, which, in turn, influences the voters because of their presence in uniform with rank, stars and badges.”

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No vote for Cong-JD(S) or BJP: Bengaluru Ponzi scam victims upset

Lok Sabha 2019

The Ponzi scam victims said they will unitedly vote for independent candidates or choose NOTA in the Lok Sabha elections.

Soumya Chatterjee

Hundreds of Ponzi scam victims in Bengaluru, mostly Muslims, who have been duped by infamous ‘halal’ schemes like Ambidant, Ajmera and others and are still awaiting their refunds, have decided to make their displeasure known by not voting for any of the mainstream political parties.  Read: A con in the name of religion: Karnataka 'Halal Ponzi scam' victims await justice They have decided not to cast their votes in favour of BJP, Congress-JD(S) candidates as they feel these parties haven’t done anything to help them, or bring the scamsters to justice. Instead, they said they will unitedly vote for independent candidates or NOTA (none of the above) in the Lok Sabha elections. Abid Ali, a victim of Ambidant, said, “We want to send out a strong message to all political parties that we are hugely disappointed. The government should have expedited the redistribution of funds that have been seized from these companies. So far nothing has been done from the government’s side or from the Opposition. So we have decided to vote for NOTA. And we are not a small number, we are almost 50,000 families across Karnataka.”  The victims have united under the banner ‘First Refund, Then Vote’ and have organised demonstrations over the past month leading up to the elections. One such demonstration was held in Bengaluru’s Town Hall on Saturday.  Narendra Kumar of Lancha Mukta Karnataka (bribe-free Karnataka), one of the leading organisers of the movement, said, “50,000 Muslim families were cheated by 25-plus ponzi companies, they lost their life-time savings worth Rs 3000 crore. As none of the political parties have done anything so far, the frustrated victims have decided to vote for Non-JCB {JD(S), Congress & BJP} candidates or choose NOTA button.” He added, “Pehle Refund, Fir Vote’ is our demand, as we are staring at a bleak future, after losing our life-time savings. We lost members to disease and divorce, sisters can’t get married and our parents may depart painfully, all due to lack of money. The root cause is the painfully slow investigation process and delays in government permissions to sell seized properties and distribute the money to us.” One of the protestors said, “While there has been no significant response from the Congress and JD(S), the BJP had earlier told them that they don’t want to be seen as helping Muslims as that might risk losing them their Hindu vote bank.” Ambidant, which is the biggest of these scams, had come to light after the arrest of former minister and tainted mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy in connection with the case.  The companies are being probed by the Central Crime Branch, and the state Revenue Department has started a process of recovering investors’ money in accordance with the Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors Act.  

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