Woman with drugs hidden in sanitary pads held at Bengaluru airport, cops bust racket

Crime

The woman was attempting to smuggle drugs from Bengaluru to Doha when she was arrested by officials.

Prajwal Bhat

Officials of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested a woman recruited to smuggle drugs from Bengaluru to Doha with the contraband concealed inside sanitary pads. She was arrested along with three others who accompanied her at the Kempegowda International Airport's (KIA) premises and it led to the arrests of their two handlers, who ran a drug smuggling cartel based in Bengaluru. Officials of the NCB, acting on a tip-off, were waiting at the departure drop-off area of KIA on Saturday morning and apprehended the woman and three others, of which one was a driver. Officials identified the woman as the person who was scheduled to fly from Bengaluru to Doha on Saturday with a rucksack. They were caught in the car in the departure drop off area of KIA in possession of 510 grams of methamphetamine and 572 Lyrica (sedative) capsules concealed in 'Whisper' sanitary napkins. "We received information that there is a middle-person and they have arranged a woman to carry drugs to Middle East countries. On Saturday morning, we found the two middlemen and the woman along with their driver in the KIA premises in possession of drugs", explains Bruno A, Zonal Director, NCB Chennai who led the operation to bust the racket. NCB officials interrogated the duo apprehended at the airport asking them about their handler, the one who handed over the drugs to them to transport. Their investigation led them to an apartment at Lindon Street in Austin Town in Bengaluru. The officials found 2.58 kg of hashish oil, 13.68 kg of hashish, 330 grams methamphetamine, 9.05 kg of marijuana and 4014 lyrics capsules in the house where Abu and Mohammed, the two handlers based their operations in Bengaluru. The duo hail from Kerala while others involved in the case are from New Delhi and Goa. "A substantial quantity of drugs were being transported from Bengaluru to Middle East countries where they were being sold to a large diaspora of Indians," explained Bruno. All six persons were produced before the 33rd Additional City, Civil and Sessions Court in Bengaluru and arrested on Monday.  The driver was also working with the middlemen to transport drugs and was scheduled to leave for Doha by flight in the next few days.

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IMA scam: K’taka HC asks govt to file status report, investors seek CBI probe

Crime

The court also sent notices to the IMA group, Burraq group, Aala Ventures, Tiforp Trading Service Private Limited and other such fraudulent companies.

TNM Staff

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The Karnataka High Court on Monday asked the state government to file a status report with the court in regard to the steps taken to protect victims of I Monetary Advisory (IMA) and other Ponzi schemes after some victims approached the court. The government has also been asked to share details of the case with the Enforcement Directorate (ED).  The  division bench headed by Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice HT Narendra Prasad was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Rasheed Nagar and Nazia Banu, both residents of Shivajinagar.  The court also sent notices to the IMA group, Burraq group, Aala Ventures, Tiforp Trading Service Private Limited and other such fraudulent companies. A single bench headed by Justice Alok Aradhe also heard two similar cases where petitioners sought a CBI probe into the matter as they stated that the inaction of the state police had already led to people being cheated of more than Rs 10,000 crore. As several IPS officers, police officials and ministers of the government are shielding the firm’s managing director, we may not be able to get any justice,” one of the petitions read. Opposition BJP also has demanded a CBI probe into the multi-crore scam in which more than 38,000 persons had filed complaints with the police. Reacting to this demand, state Home Minister MB Patil expressed confidence in the special investigation team (SIT) tasked with the probe. “Let them complain. It is not fair to harp on names until the investigation is over. Many cases have been handed over to the CBI in the past five years, did they do anything? When the Congress was in power, the BJP dubbed the CBI  ‘Congress bureau of investigation.’ Now why are they insisting that the case be handed over to the central agency? Many cases including the murder cases of MM Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh were cracked by the state police. We have already formed a SIT to investigate the IMA case and our major objective is to arrest the prime accused,  Mansoor Khan. All their shops and assets have been seized. I have personally reviewed the complaints. There are 17 cases with the CID and seven with CCB. Unless an FIR is filed, the police cannot act on it,” he said

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Four including 2 children killed as bus collides with auto rickshaw in Bengaluru

Accident

Another eight persons were seriously injured in the accident.

TNM Staff

In a tragic road accident in Bengaluru on Monday, four people were killed and another eight persons suffered serious injuries after the auto rickshaw they were travelling in, was hit head-on by a bus.  The accident took place at Vishwanathapura on the Devanahalli-Doddaballapur stretch of National Highway-207. Deccan Herald reported that the four deceased have been identified as Haseena Taj (35), her daughters Sadia (8) and Saniya (17), and their neighbour, Zoya (5). All the four were part of two families who were residents of Bitappanahlli in Hoskote taluk of greater Bengaluru. A policeman who reached the spot said the accident occurred as the axle of the auto rickshaw broke down. “As the axle broke, the auto with 12 persons aboard veered to its right and collided head on with a private bus coming from the opposite direction. Passersby rushed the injured to hospital, where doctors declared four of them dead,” Ram Nivas Sepat, Superintendent of Police, Bengaluru Rural told The Times of India. Police said the auto was heading towards Devanahalli as they were returning from the DC’s office when a speeding bus heading towards -Doddaballapur hit them after the driver lost control of the vehicle. The two families had gone to the DC’s office to update their Aadhaar cards but were told to return on Tuesday for the same. All the four were dead on the spot due to the impact of the collision while the eight injured were rushed to Devanahalli government hospital after passers-by called for an ambulance. Vishwanathapura Police have registered a case of accidental death and booked the bus driver, who is presently absconding, for negligent and rash driving. A manhunt for the driver has been launched.       

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IMA ponzi scheme scam: Number of complaints filed rise to 38,000

Crime

Police are also waiting for a court warrant to approach Interpol to ask for a red corner notice be issued against the company director Mansoor Khan, who has allegedly fled to Dubai

TNM Staff

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the I Monetary Advisory (IMA) Ponzi scheme scam in Bengaluru has approached the Karnataka High Court to invoke the Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors (KPID) Act in the case. If the Act is applied, the police can attach properties belonging to IMA and its director Mansoor Khan and the Revenue Department can sell them to compensate victims who fell prey to the company’s fraudulent scheme. Monday marked the eighth day since an FIR was registered ay Commercial Street Police Station based on over 3,000 complaints against the company and its absconding director, Mansoor Khan. Since then, the number of complaints has gone up to 38,000, with more than 3,000 complaints filed in Mysuru, an SIT source told TNM. The police are waiting for a court warrant to be issued so that they can approach Interpol to ask for a red corner notice to be issued against for Khan, as they suspect him to be hiding somewhere in Dubai. On Monday, the SIT, led by DIG Crime Ravikanthe Gowda seized jewellery and cash from Mansoor Khan’s third wife. According to SIT sources, the total value of properties seized so far has added up to Rs 621 crore, which includes the company’s offices and two high-end cars used by Mansoor Khan himself. The seven other directors of the company – Dada Peer, Nasir Hussain, Naveed Ahmed Nattamkar, Nizammudin Azeemuddin, Afshan Tabassum, Afsar Pasha and Arshad Khan – who were arrested earlier, continue to remain in police custody. Meanwhile, the blame game between authorities and politicians continued on Monday, with politicians asking why IMA, despite being flagged by the Reserve Bank of India as early as in 2015, continued to flourish. In an exclusive interview with Times of India, Revenue Minister RV Deshpande revealed that Congress MLA Roshan Baig had met him alongside Mansoor Khan. Deshpande claimed that Baig had vouched for Khan as a ‘man of good character’ and a resident of his constituency and had sought a NOC for Rs 600 crore. However, Deshpande claimed that he did not provide Khan with any undue favours. Deshpande’s statement contradicts Roshan Baig’s claims who has, till date, been claiming ignorance about IMA’s affairs. Baig could not be reached for comment.

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Medical services in Bengaluru hit as doctors join strike for safer working environment

Protest

While the doctors’ strike in West Bengal has been called off, the nationwide strike called by Indian Medical Association will be in place till Wednesday 6 am.

Dr Nimeshika Jayachandran

The otherwise bustling premises of Bengaluru’s Victoria Hospital were considerably empty on Monday. There were no long lines of patients waiting to register their names to consult a doctor in the outpatient department, nor were there the usual queues at the free medicine dispensary. “We came to get a check-up for my mother-in-law, but because there is no staff in the outpatient departments (OPD), we were directed to the casualty, but there they said they would not see any patient who doesn’t require urgent attention,” laments 40-year-old Vanitha K, a resident of Bengaluru who has been turned away from the emergency room at Victoria Hospital. She, among several others, was asked to wait as doctors and medical personnel tended to more serious cases in the casualty department. A group of people had gathered after being told to wait by staff members. “Initially they asked us to come back tomorrow, but we are waiting here itself, in case they are able to see us today. It’s hard for us to travel so much daily,” adds Vanitha. For the past 24 hours, medical and healthcare services have been similarly hit, not just in Bengaluru but across major cities in India as doctors followed the Indian Medical Association’s call for a nationwide strike. A few kilometres away, at Bengaluru’s Townhall, doctors from across the state stood together seeking that their demands for safer working environments for doctors and medical personnel be met. Cries of “we want justice” and “nyaya beku” filled the air as several doctors were seen walking around with bandaged arms and heads, while others are carried picket signs. It all started last week, with the assault of a young student doctor from Kolkata. The doctor, who remains in critical care, was attacked by the relatives of a recently deceased patient, who had smashed the doctor’s head with a brick, resulting in a skull fracture. Following this, several doctors from the city began protesting against the increasing incidents of violence faced by doctors by family members of the patients. “We are here in solidarity protesting against the attack of the doctor at NRS Medical College in West Bengal and are here to raise the genuine safety concerns we doctors have. We are pleading with the government to implement the laws which exist for doctors’ safety and are asking that the laws be further strengthened,” said Dr Sharon Frederick, a member of the Karnataka Association of Resident Doctors (KARD) at the protest. While the doctors’ strike in West Bengal was called off on Monday after a delegation of doctors held a meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the strike called by Indian Medical Association will be in place till Wednesday 6 am. “Our intention is to highlight the problem that we are facing, we need a guarantee that we can do our jobs without having to be afraid of being attacked,” says one student doctor at the hospital on the condition of anonymity. “We don’t want to cause any harm to anyone, all emergency facilities are available, only electives are not. Even in some cases, our seniors are seeing patients in the casualty even if they are not emergency cases. We want to do our job too, but it’s high time that we are provided the security that we need.

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Jindal land deal: Yeddyurappa to snub CM Kumaraswamy’s invite for talks?

Politics

Following protests by the BJP, Kumaraswamy had invited Yeddyurappa to discuss the proposed land deal with JSW Steel.

TNM Staff

PTI/ File image

The BJP led by BS Yeddyurappa is unlikely to accept Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s invitation to meet over the proposed land deal with Jindal group’s JSW Steel Ltd in Ballari. The government was criticised for proposing a direct sale deed with the steel majors at a throwaway price, with senior Congress MLA HK Patil also hitting out at the deal. Despite the CM referring the matter to a cabinet sub-committee meeting and halting the outright sale of 3,700 acres of iron-ore laden land, the BJP said it will only intensify its stir until and unless the government announces that it won’t proceed towards an absolute sale deed. The BJP including its top leaders had held a three-day protest in Bengaluru beginning on Friday against the government centring on this land deal and other issues and even tried to storm his home office. On Sunday, Kumaraswamy had invited Yeddyurappa to discuss the issue through JD(S) MLA Venkatrao Nadgowda who met the BJP leader at the protest site. BJP spokesperson Shantaram said, “Our demand is to cancel the sale proposal once and for all. There is no change in that stand, we will only intensify the agitation. So, there is no point of discussion with the Chief Minister until and unless a Government Order is issued declaring that there won’t be any sale.” “If the government is keen on industries running, we have no problem of extending the lease agreement that is also legally possible,” he added. When asked about the BJP being part of the initial land deal with Jindal in 2006 when Yeddyurappa was the then Deputy CM, Shantaram said at that point it was only a lease deal. “As we understand, the government has every right to review the earlier order. Let Jindal go to court. All the companies would always naturally want for an outright sale. But why is the government so keen on an outright sale?” he asked. The CM’s office confirmed that there has been no response from the Leader of Opposition and the date of the cabinet committee meeting is yet to be ascertained. Political analyst Mahadeva Prakash sees the BJP stand nothing out of the ordinary. “With opposition to the deal within the government coming from senior MLA HK Patil, the BJP will obviously take the matter to its logical end. The government promising another sub-committee review is not a sincere move but only a reaction. The BJP will capitalise on the mood of the local people against Jindal and make the issue of kickbacks big,” he said. The lease-cum-sale agreement was signed by the Karnataka government with JSW in 2006 when the JD(S)-BJP government was in power.  Thirteen years later, in the cabinet meeting on May 27, the Kumaraswamy government gave a nod to the sale deal, setting the price at Rs 1.22 lakh per acre for the first parcel of land and Rs 1.5 lakh per acre for the second parcel of land when the market rate is much higher. The opposition to the sale of 3,700 acre land to JSW Steel is on two grounds. One being the throwaway price of the land and second being that the land was being sold much ahead of the 99 year lease period. BJP stages protest in Bengaluru against state government over JSW land deal Karnataka govt to reassess Jindal land deal, what the controversy is all about

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Karnataka government proposes new IT policy, to focus on employment in Tier-II cities

Policy

Strategies that will promote emerging technologies such as AI, Machine Learning, Virtual Realty will be adopted, a top bureaucrat said.

TNM Staff

Representational Image

The Karnataka government on Monday said to push the state as the global 'first choice' for Innovation and Technology it will soon announce a new IT Policy to drive investments and employment in the state with a special focus on Tier 2 cities. The sectors in focus will drive inclusive digital growth by adopting strategies that will promote emerging technologies such as AI, Machine Learning, Virtual Realty etc. “We are in the process of formulating a revised IT Policy for the state. Our aim is to strengthen the state’s leadership position in the IT/ITeS industry through increased thrust for emerging technologies and R&D. Our focus would be to enhance necessary support through key incentives and facilitation through the institutional mechanism," Gaurav Gupta. Principal Secretary, Department of IT, BT and Science and Technology said. "We have already identified new engagements with countries like Estonia, Canada and Switzerland and are in the process of chalking out soft-landing exchange for startups in countries like Germany and Netherlands. We are also keen to enhance our focus on Tier II and Tier III cities," Gaurav Gupta added speaking on the government’s plan to  collaborate through Global Innovation Alliances. The statement came as Gupta was charing the 15th Vision Group Meeting along with Vision Group member,  Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman Alixor Ventures and co-founder of Infosys. The Vision Group, led by industry captains, is also advising the government on organising the upcoming Bengaluru Tech Summit 2019 scheduled in November. These announcements come after two days the governrment cabinet  announced it will amend the Karnataka Startup Policy 2015-2020 in accordance with the central government policy. "The central policy is much detailed than the state policy. According to our policy to consider as startup, it should not have exceeded four years, while the central policy says 10 years. Our policy says the turnover should not exceed Rs 50 crore, while central policy limits at Rs 100 crore."  Rural development minister Krishna Byre Gowda said.          

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