Four injured in accident at Bengaluru's WonderLa, cops probe after video emerges

Accident

Police say the accident occurred on June 18 but they were unaware of it.

TNM Staff

A capsule of a thriller ride at Bengaluru’s WonderLa is seen fallen on the ground in a video that went viral on Friday. One of the capsules from the primary machine has been dislodged. Four men, who were seated in the capsule are stuck between the capsule and the ground, the capsule weighing down on their knees. Though the video went viral on social media on Friday, the local police say that the accident occurred on the afternoon of June 18 and that they were unaware of the incident. Speaking to TNM, Harish, sub-inspector of the Bidadi Police Station said that four men aged between 25 and 45 years sustained injuries on their knees due to the accident. On the afternoon of June 18, the four men got onto one of the thrill rides in WonderLa – The Hurricane. The Hurricane’s machinery resembles a fan with three capsules that can seat eight people in each, four people at the front and four at the back. As the fan turns, each capsule also rotates on its own axis. “On June 18th afternoon, the ride began and midway, there was power failure. The staff at WonderLa said it was a power cut. The machine was to be operated manually by the staff. As the ride was completed, the staff members were lowering the capsules to the ground. They said there was some technical glitch and the staff lost control over the machine, which toppled to the ground. Those who were sitting on the front of the capsule got stuck and they were injured,” SI Harish told TNM. The staff rushed to their rescue and lifted the capsule off the ground. The incident was captured by on-lookers, which was initially posted on Instagram and later went viral on WhatsApp and Twitter on Friday. “The injured were rushed to the hospital by WonderLa staff. They are currently at BGS Hospital. We did not learn of the video until Thursday evening and we waited for a memo from the Kengeri Sub-division to carry out a probe since none of the victims had filed a complaint. This morning, after receiving a memo, our officers have gone to obtain the statements of the victims. WonderLa staff had not told us about it because the victims had not filed a complaint,” SI Harsih added. A WonderLa spokesperson from Wonderla told The New Indian Express, "We did not inform the police since it was not a major incident." Read: Narrow escape for 12 after Chennai amusement park ride plummets to the ground  

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1.5 years later, those who cleared Karnataka public service exam await recruitment

Exams

For the latest KPSC batch – the ones who cleared the exam in December 2017 – the interview dates are yet to be announced.

Soumya Chatterjee

Image for representation | PTI

‘Government’s work is God’s work’: these words stand out even in grandiose of the Vishana Soudha in Bengaluru. But getting an opportunity to do the same is rather difficult and inordinately delayed for Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) aspirants, thanks to no clarity on the date of interviews and recruitment for those who cleared the exam. KPSC, the civil services entrance exam through which Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) officers are recruited, is modeled around the Union Public Service Commission which recruits IAS officers. In the last decade, there has been only one round of recruitment that has for about 400 positions despite more than 2,000 posts being vacant. And for the latest batch – the ones who cleared the exam in December 2017 – the interview dates are yet to be announced. Meanwhile, the recruitment of the 2011 batch has also been stayed by the Karnataka High Court due to irregularities. While hundreds of people’s futures hang in the balance, the KPSC, an independent body, has been delaying the recruitment process without any clarification. Raghavendra is one of those people who took the last KPSC examination in 2017. The test was notified in 2015, but wasn’t conducted for two years. The 30-year-old Bengaluru resident is an M Tech degree holder. He rues that his future is continues to be uncertain though he spent years focusing on government job exams. “KPSC have been delaying the interview process for almost two years now. More than 2,000 students have qualified for the interview process. From January 2018 till now, only document verification has taken place and they do not have any clue when in actuality the recruitment will take place,” Raghavendra tells TNM, disappointment apparent in his voice. He adds, “The delay is not only an issue of immediate employment or income. Many of us will lose our eligibility. 35 is the age limit for general category, 37 for OBCs and 44 for SC/ ST category candidates.”   Kavya K, another aspirant, said, “We are frustrated at this point. Administration is something which we like and that is why we invested our time preparing for these examinations. But unlike UPSC we do not find any pattern for KPSC exams. We are being kept in the dark about our future.” Under these circumstances, Kavya has started to work part time as an online educator. Poorna Chandra, Raghavendra’s contemporary, tells, “It is not that we are asking for a job. But we are looking for an answer for closure. Is that a lot to ask? In UPSC, across the nation, the results are declared within three months or so. But here the KPSC is so inefficient that it doesn’t happen even in one year.” He adds, “Everybody has financial commitments. It is not possible for everybody to pursue this process without any steady income for years.” Unlike other issues, neither the state government nor the Opposition has made any effort to elevate the woes of these 2,000 aspirants who appeared for the KPSC examinations. Only BJP MLA from Rajajinagar Suresh Kumar, has lent support to the cause of these aspirants and even participated in protests outside the KPSC office. “SS Jannu, the secretary of the KSPC has even lied to him saying that the interview will be held in next days and letters will soon be dispatched,” Raghavendra alleges. When confronted with the issue, an official from the Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s office, said, “The matter does not pertain to the state government or the CMO. But we will look into it to help the students.” While the KPSC is an independent body, aspirants feel that the state government must try to keep a check on it. Former Karnataka Chief Secretary Ratna Prabha K agrees. She says, "I can understand the plight of the aspirants, they must be getting worried. The state government can obviously do its bit. I, as a chief secretary, wanted to do my bit. I am not able to understand why there is this long a delay." A comment from current Chief Secretary Vijay Bhaskar is awaited.

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I am being punished for speaking the truth: Cong leader Roshan Baig on suspension

Politics

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President Dinesh Gundu Rao on Wednesday suspended Baig for indulging in anti-party activities.

IANS

Reaffirming his loyalty to party president Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka Congress legislator Roshan Baig on Thursday said he was suspended from the party for speaking the truth on the party's dismal show in the recent Lok Sabha elections due to the failure of the party's state leadership. "As a loyal and dedicated member of the party, I spoke the truth on why the Congress won only one parliamentary seat and lost in 20 seats it contested in alliance with the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S). I will explain my views to the leadership soon," Baig told IANS here. The party's state unit, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), on Wednesday suspended Baig after the All India Congress Committee (AICC) approved its recommendation for action against him on the basis of an enquiry into his anti-party activities. "Blaming the party's state leadership, especially Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah and KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao, cannot be termed anti-party when they were responsible for the party's rout in the general election," said Baig. Baig, 67, a former Congress minister, is an eight-time legislator from the Shivajinagar Assembly segment in the heart of Bengaluru. Upset by Baig's open criticism of the party's state leadership, the KPCC on May 21 served notice on him, seeking explanation for his attack on AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal, Siddaramaiah and Rao for the party's worst performance in the Lok Sabha elections in the southern state. "Pointing out that the party fared badly in the assembly segments (Badami and Gandhinagar) of the parliamentary seats (Bagalkot and Bangalore Central), represented by Siddaramaiah and Rao, cannot be construed as anti-party activity when the party took lead in my assembly seat (Shivajinagar). I was only stating the facts," reiterated Baig. The JD-S also won only one seat though it contested in 7, while the BJP bagged 25 of the 27 seats it contested and supported an Independent (Sumalatha Ambareesh) who wrested the Mandya seat from the JD-S. Commenting on the May 19 exit polls on May 20, that projected Congress performing poorly in the general elections, Baig lashed out at Venugopal, Siddaramaiah and Rao. "Venugopal is a buffoon. What does he know about the party in our state as he is from Kerala? Due to Siddaramaiah's arrogance, the party lost in the May 2018 Assembly elections and Rao's immaturity is responsible for the dismal state of affairs currently," Baig told reporters at his residence here. Baig also blamed party leaders in Mandya for the defeat of the allies' joint candidate Nikhil as they openly campaigned for Sumalatha and ensured her victory. "Why was no action taken against the party leaders in Mandya who campaigned for an Independent (Sumalatha), supported by the BJP? Is it not an anti-party activity?" asked Baig. Nikhil is the son of state Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. Similarly, no action was taken against party leaders like former MLA Rajanna in Tumkur where JD-S supremo H.D. Deve Gowda lost as a joint candidate, as they did not actively campaign for him. "No notice or explanation was sought from the party leaders in Tumkur by the KPCC. Why target me only for speaking the truth?" asked Baig. Congress retained Bangalore Rural seat and JD-S Hassan seat.

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Ponzi scam: IMA owner Mansoor Khan, directors asked to appear before ED on June 24

Scam

They have been asked to produce financial documents, including bank accounts held by them and their family members.

TNM Staff

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued show-cause notices to the absconding Managing Director of I Monetary Advisory (IMA), Mohammed Mansoor Khan, and seven other directors of the firm. They have been asked to appear before the ED's Bengaluru office on June 24. The seven directors of the firm are Anwar Pasha, Arshad Khan, Dada Peer, Naveed Ahmed, Nazir Hussain, Nizamuddin and Waseem as per India Today.  They have been also asked to produce financial documents including the bank accounts held by them and their family members, details of entities they are associated with and movable and immovable properties, and income tax returns filed by IMA, reported The New Indian Express.  They have been asked to appear under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The seven directors were earlier arrested on June 11 after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) took over the investigation into the scam. IMA had promised investors high returns and taken several hundred crores. More than 38,000 complaints have been received against IMA so far.  Mansoor Khan fled the country on June 8 and purportedly released an audio claiming that Congress MLA (now suspended) R Roshan Baig refused to return to him the Rs 400 crore which he had ‘borrowed’ for the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. Roshan, who is a seven-time MLA from Shivajinagar constituency, is now under pressure from the Congress. He protested his innocence even as other Congress leaders like RV Deshpande told media persons that Roshan had known Mansoor earlier and was seeking a loan from him. The Bengaluru-based company had earlier been collecting money from investors with the promise of returns of over 3% per month.The fraud emerged after hundreds of people gathered outside the investment firm’s offices on June 12, saying that it had not provided returns on their investments for more than two months.

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HC raps Bengaluru police for 'casual approach' to noise inspection at Indiranagar pubs

Tasked with inspecting noise levels at midnight, police officials had taken officers of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) in the evening to check noise levels.

TNM Staff

  The Karnataka High Court pulled up Bengaluru police over their 'casual approach' to inspecting pubs in the Indiranagar area for noise levels. A division bench headed by Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice HT Narendra Prasad made the observation after a status report submitted by the police found that police officials had taken officers of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) to check noise levels in the evening or early at night even though the complaints of residents suggested noise pollution at or past midnight. The KSPCB in its report stated that it had not found cases of noise pollution. "We are making it very clear that we will never tolerate such mischief with the court. If this casual approach continues, we will have to take the extreme step of summoning the police commissioner," the court observed as per The New Indian Express. The court was hearing a PIL by various residents, welfare groups of Indiranagar on the illegalities in the operation of pubs in Indiranagar. The counsel appearing for the police claimed that the police had conducted checks on noise levels even at midnight but he could not provide documentation for the same. According to Deccan Herald, the court has now directed police officials to conduct surprise visits to bars in Indiranagar and submit an affidavit by a senior police official in a sealed envelope with details of the visit. It also asked the police to furnish details of the meters, equipment being used to check noise levels. The legality of pubs operating on rooftops in Indiranagar with temporary structures will also be inspected by the police.    

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Appeals court says Trump family planning restrictions can take effect

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IMA Jewels scam: SIT raids Bengaluru office, finds gold and diamond shelves empty

Crime

The SIT suspects that Mansoor Khan, who is believed to have fled the country, may have siphoned off the gold and diamonds from the store.

TNM Staff

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the IMA scam on Thursday raided the head office of IMA Jewels located in Bengaluru’s Shivajinagar area. SIT sleuths say that they have seized silver ornaments in the raids. SIT sources say that the jewellery store’s shelves were devoid of ornaments and the silver that was seized needs to be valued to determine the cost. “There were about 15 to 20 employees at the office. They were here because they wanted to get their original certificates, like marks cards, back. We interviewed them and took information about the workings of the office. We found only silver in the vault. The shelves were empty,” the SIT official added. Investigators say that Mohammed Mansoor Khan, who is believed to have fled the country following the expose, is said to have siphoned off the gold and diamonds from the store between June 5 and June 8. “Mansoor Khan disappeared on June 8. He was called in for questioning by the Central Crime Branch on June 5, where he was grilled for 8 hours. We believe he could have been tipped off about a possible arrest and he fled the country with the gold and other ornaments,” the source said. IMA offered members of the Muslim community ‘halal’ investment options. According to the Sharia law, it is considered ‘haram’ (prohibited) to draw interests (riba) on the money. ‘Halal’ options are considered ethical wherein the amount can be invested in the trade of commodities accepted under the Islamic law and a profit is shared with the investors. When IMA shut down on June 10, investors were left with two audio clips purported to be suicide notes recorded by Mansoor Khan. However, on June 13, the SIT learned that he had fled to Dubai with his fourth wife and two children. The SIT has conducted raids on several of his properties since June 10 and on Monday, raided the home of his third wife, Tabassum. They recovered 1.5 kg gold and Rs 2.5 lakh cash along with a laptop from there.    

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