From Delhi to US, Bengaluru artist flooded with requests to ‘moonwalk’ on bad roads

Civic issues

Baadal, who wanted to shed light on the deplorable condition of the road, clearly succeeded, as the BBMP began repair work just a day after his tweet went viral.

TNM Staff

Bengaluru-based street artist Baadal Nanjundaswamy recently made rather viral news when he got an actor to don an astronaut’s costume and ‘moonwalk’ on the Tunganagar Main Road in the city. The pothole-riddled road and its dim streetlights were wittily used to create the illusion that the street was the heavily cratered surface of the moon. Baadal, who had set out to shed light on the deplorable condition of the road, clearly succeeded, and then some. Not only did the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, the city’s civic agency, take note and begin repair work just a day after Baadal’s tweet went viral, but the artist has been flooded with requests from various parts of India and the world to recreate the scene on their pothole-ridden roads. Read: Moonwalk in Bengaluru! Crater-sized potholes turns lunar surface for artist Thanking the BBMP for their prompt response, Baadal posted a video on Tuesday showing an earthmover taking up repair work. Thank you people for such a overwhelming response and support!  Work in progress.. Quick and prompt response from @BBMP. Thank you very much @BBMPCOMM @BBMP_MAYOR and Mr. Prabhakar, CE RR Nagar who is overlooking on ground currently. pic.twitter.com/clgoLAIKzU — baadal nanjundaswamy (@baadalvirus) September 3, 2019 In the replies to the tweet, meanwhile, are many people asking Baadal to do something similar for other roads as well. The requests are for different parts of Bengaluru, and also cities like Delhi, even from Hawaii and Louisiana in the United States. And city market square... — Ganesh | ಗಣೇಶ್  (@gganeshhh) September 3, 2019 Can you please shoot a similar video in Kalkaji, New Delhi? #justasking — That Recruitment Guy (@vykasdua) September 3, 2019 One walk in Bannerghatta Road please :D :) — Vicky Kandavara (@vickykandavara) September 3, 2019 Congratulations. Ur moon walk is very much required in our smart city (mangalore). Though I doubt mangalore officials being this active @vedavyasbjp @nalinkateel @CMofKarnataka pic.twitter.com/2B7vcNtuNL — Nayan Mulki (@Porludagant) September 3, 2019 Hi @baadalvirus sir, i cordially invite u to Dinne Anjaneya Swamy Temple road, off Haralur Road. The craters are bigger there Only u may do something to grab @BBMPCOMM @BBMP_MAYOR @ArvindLBJP's attention. Our complains from past 2 years may not be sufficient @Abinash70501134 — Ambuj Kumar (@Buji_Boy) September 3, 2019 @baadalvirus Boss will you lend me your Astronaut Suit for a day, I would like to explore the craters on Hyderabad roads. I promise our Roads are exact replica of Moon Surface, I challenge it will be better visually than the one photographed by Neil Armstrong.@TOIHyderabad — seshagiri b.v (@seshagiribv) September 2, 2019 I bet you cant walk here, you must swim .. Nature itself has declared road dead by spreading flowers on it #vidyranyapura pic.twitter.com/0nLgDUBJGM — Shriraj nair (@srajx786) September 2, 2019 He needs to come to michigan! — Amelia (@AmyOlson70) September 2, 2019 I agree he should do this in Hawaii our roads are jacked up as well —  (@puaolena8) September 3, 2019 Are we sure these aren’t Louisiana roads https://t.co/YiRPiuqoQh — Emily Morris (@empremor) September 3, 2019 Somebody need to this in DC and Maryland https://t.co/4trqeBJdtm — Rond Burgundy (@Mondkeyboy06) September 3, 2019 This isn’t the first time that Baadal has taken a creative approach to highlight the state of the city’s roads. Known for transforming potholes into artistic installations that pack a point, last year Baadal had transformed a pothole at the Cubbon Park Junction area into a pond, complete with an actor posing as a mermaid too. Bengaluru: In a unique protest against pothole deaths, an artist turns a pothole into a mermaid's living space in Cubbon Park Junction area. pic.twitter.com/oOTOQFBSHI — ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2017 Earlier in 2015, after he had placed a faux crocodile in a huge pothole on Sultanpalya Main Road, the BBMP had taken up repair work just a day later, much like the most recent case. Read: Bengaluru artist puts a 'crocodile' in city's pothole, BBMP swiftly fills it up The BBMP, meanwhile, has been claiming that it is working to fill up Bengaluru’s potholes on priority, after it was pulled up by the Karnataka High Court last month. Last week, the civic body had announced a Rs 2,000 fine for engineers who fail to fill the potholes.

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More six-car trains on Green Line of Bengaluru’s Namma Metro from October

Transport

All trains on the Purple Line have been converted to six-car trains.

TNM Staff

Commuters on the Green Line of the Namma Metro in Bengaluru can heave a sigh of relief as the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has promised to introduce more six-coach trains from October. Passengers on the Green Line have been complaining of crowding during peak hours as the capacity of the trains have stayed the same since operations began, while all trains on the Purple Line have been converted to six-car trains.   Until June 2018, all Namma Metro trains plying in the city consisted of three coaches with a total capacity of 975 passengers at a given time. This caused a space crunch during peak hours. The six-car train, in comparison, can accommodate as many as 2,000 passengers. In a release, BMRCL Chief Public Relations Officer Yashvanth Chavan said, "The constraints in the local capacity of receiving substation have since been addressed. From October 1, onwards BMRCL is committed to induct more 6-car train sets on the north-south (Green) line at the rate of three or four trains per month. We are targeting to complete commission of the 50 train sets by March 2020.” Currently, the city has two metro lines as part of phase 1 interconnected at the Majestic station. While the Green Line between Nagasandra-Yelachenahalli spans 24.22 km, the Purple Line between Baiyappanahalli and Mysore Road runs for 18.08 km.  This announcement on Monday comes after the metro recorded its highest ridership in the city on Friday. A total of 4,58,238 persons travelled on the metro on that day, overtaking the previous record of 4,52,563 achieved ahead of Independence Day. Incidentally, this number was higher by 25,000 than last year’s highest ridership.  The metro cars are provided by Indian public sector unit Bharat Earthmovers Ltd (BEML). The first compartment is reserved for women in all six-car trains.

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2 Bengaluru men narrate similar tales of extortion on road: Crime using same modus operandi?

Crime

The police however say that without the alleged victims filing complaints, it is not possible to investigate if a gang or gangs were behind it.

Geetika Mantri

Bengaluru-based Sumith* was on his way to work as usual on August 26 when he heard a sound on the left side of his car. “I was pretty sure that it was just someone’s hand hitting the back of the car,” he recounts. “I looked in the rear-view mirror. I saw two men on a scooter, who had stopped but not fallen off,” he adds. Thinking nothing of it, he continued to drive. However, soon the duo on the scooter chased him down. “They started shouting at me, and said one of them was in a lot of pain because he had broken his hand from hitting my car. They said he had to be taken to a hospital,” Sumith says. Thought Sumith did not think his vehicle had collided with theirs, he agreed to take the apparently injured man to a hospital. The latter sat in the car with Sumith, while his friend followed them on the scooter. The man in the car did not tell Sumith which hospital they were going to, and just kept giving directions. “He kept using abusive language at me, and also asked for Rs 13,000, which I refused,” Sumith alleges. Things only got more ominous after this. While driving through Jayanagar, the man in Sumith’s car allegedly kept referring to the area as his “adda”, and saying that his brother was the right-hand man of a senior political leader. He allegedly also snatched Sumith’s mobile, threatened him and that he would damage his car, and tried taking the car keys. Finally, Sumith said he had very little money with him; and was allegedly made to go to an ATM. Sumith was allowed to leave after he agreed to pay a negotiated sum. Sumith* decided to share his experience on a WhatsApp group of local residents, which is when Arvind* who is a part of the group said something eerily similar had happened to him near Koramangala in July. Another similar incident 56-year-old Arvind was returning home the evening of July 15 when he too heard a bump on the left side of his car, “like someone had hit the car with their hand,” he tells TNM. “I looked behind me, there were two people on a scooter. I was sure I had not hit them. It seemed like the bike was still in the process of falling, but the rider had gotten off and was already walking towards my car.” What ensued was very similar to Sumith’s case. The pillion rider, who claimed to be injured, insisted that they go to a nameless hospital of his choice rather than the one nearby. He got into Arvind’s car, then went on to threaten Arvind. “The guy who followed us on the two-wheeler told me at one point that if I did not want to get in trouble, I should give them Rs 3 lakh, because the injured man was connected politically,” Arvind narrates. Arvind ended up paying the men close to Rs 1 lakh. The men allegedly made Arvind go to an ATM and withdraw money. However, due to Rs 40,000 limit on withdrawal, they made him transfer some amount using UPI to another account, and some more amount through UPI to a security guard near the ATM. Then, they made Arvind delete the apps from his phone. “I feel stupid having given that much money now. But I just felt guilty that I had caused someone injury,” Arvind says. He did not consider the possibility that it may have been a scam until he came to know about what happened with Sumith. Manohar Rao, who is part of the WhatsApp group, posted the conversation on his blog praja.in. Another woman who recounted a similar incident during this conversation was Neeta*. It happened to her around a year ago near Agara Lake. “I think something did happen to him, because there were some bruises on his arm. But I don’t know if it was there from before. I think if I had hit him with my car, I would have felt it too,” Neeta tells TNM. She ended up taking the man to the doctor, paying for some preliminary treatment, and also giving him a few thousand rupees to repair his scooter that was apparently damaged. However two days later, he ended up finding out her address from the RTO and landed up at her residence to demand more money. It was Manohar, who ended up speaking to the man, and said that they should go to the police if he wanted more money. After that, the man decided to leave. "The fact that he managed to get my details from the RTO and came here was very scary,” Neeta says. Police say they can’t do anything without complaint Neither Neeta nor Arvind nor Sumith filed a police complaint for fear of backlash from the men who took the money from them. The fact that the man from Neeta’s case ended up finding her address also made them worried about their safety and that of their families. As to whether it’s could be an organised crime, police is not so sure. Both DCP South East Isha Pant and DCP South Roopali Katoch Sepat, under whose jurisdictions Koramangala and Lalbagh respectively fall, told TNM that they have not received complaints about such kind of extortions on the pretext of injury caused in a road accident. Both of them encouraged the victims to come forward and file a complaint with the police. “Without an FIR, we can’t cannot really proceed against such persons,” the police officials said.     

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IMA ponzi scam: CBI files case against company, founder Mansoor Khan

Crime

The agency has registered a criminal case on the charges of the criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property.

IANS

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a case against Bengaluru-based I-Monetory Advisory (IMA) and its MD Mansoor Khan, as well as against its group entities, for allegedly duping over a lakh gullible investors through a multi-crore ponzi scheme, CBI officials said on Monday. The CBI action comes almost 10 days after the Karnataka government permitted the probe by the Central agency. According to CBI officials Delhi, the case against IMA, Khan and several other private persons were registered on August 30 after the agency got the go-ahead from the Central government on the request of the Karnataka government.  The agency has registered a criminal case on the charges of the criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property. The agency will be probing the various alleged illegal activities of IMA and its entities.  A case was first registered against Khan and his IMA at the Commercial Street Police Station in Bengaluru on the written complaint of Khalid Ahmed for alleged duping him and his family members to the tune of Rs 1.34 crore. He also accused Khan of owing him of Rs 3.5 crore on account of construction undertaken by his company for the IMA.  According to Karnataka Police, 15 more FIRs were filed against Khan and his group for duping investors. Following the many complaints, the case was transferred to a Karnataka Police Special Investigation Team (SIT). The scam came to light when Khan fled to Dubai, leaving behind a video message in which he said that he was committing suicide because of "corruption in the state and central governments". Subsequently, soon after his arrival from Dubai, Khan was arrested here on July 21 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and is currently in judicial custody in Karnataka. Before fleeing the country, Khan had accused R. Roshan Baig, the MLA from Bengaluru's Shivajinagar, of not returning Rs 400 crore that the latter had borrowed from him. Baig has been disqualified from the Assembly for anti-party activities on a request by the Congress party.  

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4-yr-old boy missing in Bengaluru, feared to have slipped into a stormwater drain

Accident

The boy went missing on Friday. However, it was only after two days that the girl, with whom he was playing, said the boy fell into a stormwater drain.

TNM Staff

Screengrab

For the last three days, the family of a four-year-old boy have been engaged in a frantic search for their son, Mohammed Zain, who went missing on Friday night. With no signs of the boy, his parents have also filed a missing person’s complaint. The boy is feared to have been washed down a stormwater drain near his residence in Padarayanapura ward of Bengaluru. On Sunday, the Bengaluru police and fire department officials were pressed into service to look for him. The police realised that the boy might have slipped into the drainage system when they went through the footage from a CCTV camera in the neighbourhood. According to reports, another child in Bengaluru's JJR Nagar, part of the Chamarajapet area saw the child slipping into a stormwater drain. She, however, told authorities only later that the boy may have slipped. “Zain had gone to the side of the stormwater drain with a girl of his age. In the footage, we only saw the girl returning. We have been looking for him since then. However, it was only two days after the incident that the girl told us that he fell into the stormwater drain. We then went to the stormwater drain to find him, but in vain,” Shabuddin, the boy’s uncle, told News9.  After the preliminary investigation, Lingaraj, Inspector at the JJR Nagar police station said, “The boy fell into the stormwater drain when he tried to peep inside it. He has not been found and we fear he has been washed away in the drain. We have registered a complaint at our station.” Imran Pasha, councillor of Padarayanapura ward, who also joined to supervise the rescue operations, could not be reached for comment. (This is a developing story)

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Karnataka phone tapping case: CBI to probe list of phones tapped and who okayed tapping

Crime

Sources in CBI tell TNM that they will request the minutes of the high-powered committee meeting that authorises interception of calls.

Theja Ram

The Central Bureau of Investigation, which is probing the alleged phone tapping during HD Kumaraswamy's 14 month tenure as Chief Minister, has requested the minutes of the meetings held by the high-powered committee that approves requests for intercepting calls. "This committee gives permission on a case-by-case basis depending on whether it has something to do with national security or an investigation," the source said.  Sources say that the CBI is looking to obtain minutes of the meetings held between August 1, 2018 and August 30, 2019. The investigating team headed by CBI Superintendent of Police Kiran, is also going to requisition the calls intercepted using the 16 devices in possession of the Karnataka State Police between this period. The CBI had on August 30, registered an FIR under section 72 (Penalty for breach of confidentiality and privacy) of the Information Technology Act and section 26 (unlawfully intercepting or disclosing messages) of the Indian Telegraph Act. The FIR states that upon the instruction of the former Police Commissioner of Bengaluru (Alok Kumar), phones of politicians were tapped legally, but the interception details were downloaded and published unlawfully. The FIR also states that the CBI is probing illegal interceptions of phones of political leaders belonging to the BJP. “Initially, the Cyber Crime unit headed by Sandeep Patil had registered an FIR under section 72 of IT Act and conducted a preliminary probe. Back then, three police officers attached with the Technical Support Centre of the Bengaluru Police – Mirza Ali, Balaraj, Malatesh and Assistant Commissioner of Police Ramachandrappa were questioned by Sandeep Patil as they were the ones who tapped the phone of Misbauddin Mukharam, an accused in a Ponzi Scam case. They said that they had tapped the accused’s phone on orders from the then Cyber Crime chief Alok Kumar,” the source said. In August, audio tapes of a telephonic conversation between Misbauddin and a senior police officer had gone viral on social media after it was leaked. CBI sources say that the conversation was recorded after permission was obtained to tap Misbauddin’s phone. “Misbauddin has been accused of a halal ponzi scam and the Wilson Garden Police had registered an FIR against him in August 2018. His phone was tapped so the police could track him down. He was arrested in June this year. This audio conversation between the senior police officer and Misbauddin was downloaded in a pen drive and given to the former Police Commissioner at 2 pm on August 2 this year. The question is who leaked it,” the source added. Soon after the audio was released, Chief Minister Yediyurappa alleged that phones of over 300 politicians and their associates and relatives was tapped by the former Congress-JD(S) coalition government. The probe was handed over to the CBI last week. CBI sources say that the investigators are looking to cross reference the phone taps approved by the high-powered committee with the actual number of phones that were tapped by obtaining data from the 16 machines. “If any information has been deleted, we will have to retrieve it. If there is no discrepancy, then the allegation of phone tapping of politicians would be false,” the source added.            

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Uttara Kannada police officers, who went missing in a forest, return safely

Police

The two police officers were part of combing operations near Bare village in Uttara Kannada when they were separated from the rest of the team.

TNM Staff

Two police officials who went missing in a forest area of Uttara Kannada district on Sunday were found in the Masthikatte forest area near Sunkasala village on Monday morning. The missing officers were identified as Shankar Marihal, Karwar Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP), and Ravichandran, an Intelligence Bureau official. Police and forest department officials traced Shankar and Ravichandran in the dense forests, where they camped overnight after they were separated from other police officials during a combing operation near Bare village that included other officials and began at 9:30 am on Sunday. The missing police officers were eventually rescued from the dense forests located between Yellapur and Kadra early on Monday morning after three teams were pressed into service to search for them. "They were separated during the combing operation after they spotted a leopard. The area where they went missing is known for the presence of many wild animals so we decided to intensify our search for them this morning," confirmed Gopal Byakoda, Additional SP, who led the search for the police officials. Gopal confirmed that the missing policemen camped in the forest overnight before they were found unhurt on Monday morning. They were reported missing around 7:30 pm on Sunday evening and search officials managed to establish contact with the duo only at 6:30 am on Monday. Search teams scoured the forest area looking for the missing policemen. Uttara Kannada SP Shiva Prakash Devaraju refuted reports that suggested that the missing policemen were tracing a mysterious satellite phone call placed from one of the villages. "They were part of a team doing general combing operations when they went missing. In combing operations, police officials familiarise themselves with the terrain and speak to people living in villages. These are in remote areas inside the forests," said Shiva Prakash. Rain spells also affected the search efforts after the two missing police officeres could not be contacted. Bare is located 15 km away from Kaiga, where a nuclear power generating station is located. 

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