Director of Bengaluru-based Mantri Developers stopped from flying out to Singapore

Detention

A lookout notice has been issued against the top executives of Mantri Developers, which is being investigated over an alleged cheating case among others.

Soumya Chatterjee

Police in Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport detained Snehal Mantri, Director of Bengaluru-based real estate major Mantri Developers as she was attempting to fly out to Singapore on Tuesday. She was later released but not allowed to leave the country. Snehal is also the wife of Sushil who is the Managing Director. Mantri Developers is being probed by Bengaluru police over an alleged cheating case among others. The detention was made based on a ‘lookout notice’ that had been issued by the Union Home Ministry following a request by Bengaluru’s Cubbon Park Police Station. This after some of the complainants in the cheating case had apprehensions of the couple fleeing the country. While Snehal was not allowed to leave the country, Cubbon Park police was informed of her detention at the Delhi airport. However, as Cubbon Park police said they don't need to take her into custody, she was released from detention.  “In total, we have eight FIRs registered against Mantri. We don’t feel the need to arrest them now. So far they are cooperating with the investigations. All these eight cases are involving the Mantri Webcity project in Hennur. Police in Delhi had contacted us asking if we wanted her custody,” B Iyanna Reddy, Inspector of Cubbon Park Police Station told TNM. Other than the FIRs, there are multiple civil cases in various Bengaluru courts including the Karnataka High Court.  Read: Several Bengaluru home buyers left in the lurch after delay in Mantri project TNM has earlier reported how many customers of this Webcity project felt cheated and had started defaulting on their home loans due to non-delivery of the project. This as many of the buyers struggled to pay the EMIs apart from having to pay rent for their current residence. In 2014, Mantri Developers had published advertisements of a scheme where buyers had the option of paying a down payment of 20% with the remaining 80% paid through a bank loan serviced by EMIs. What lured the buyers was that Mantri promised to pay back the EMIs for the first three years before the possession of the flat as part of the agreement after receiving 20% of the cost upfront from the buyers. Moreover, buyers also had the option of choosing to sell their property at the end of three years and get double the amount invested.  As promised by Mantri, the first group of apartments were set to be delivered by mid-2015, but much to their distress, buyers allege that even till now there has been little progress in the work. TNM could not reach Snehal Mantri for a comment. Speaking to TNM earlier in March, Snehal had admitted that there was a delay. “It is nothing like that the project is not getting completed. It has got a little delayed as you know everybody in the industry has got delayed due to various factors. So now we are handing over in phases, which we have already committed. And it is nothing that the delay has gone beyond. But definitely, as per RERA, we will adhere to the dates as per RERA that we have already committed. This is the only project that has got delayed, tomorrow onwards you will see that the project is going in full swing,” she had then said. However, many customers told TNM that there was no affirmative action on ground.  

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BBMP revokes all permissions for laying cables after telecos dig up Bengaluru roads

Civic issues

BBMP had imposed fines on Reliance Jio and Airtel for allegedly digging up roads without permission to lay optic fiber cables.

TNM Staff

Photograph via Twitter/ BBMP

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has withdrawn all permissions to lay optic fiber cables (OFCs) after the civic body received multiple complaints of telecom companies digging up roads without permission.  The decision comes after the BBMP imposed fines on Reliance Jio and Airtel for allegedly digging up roads without permission to lay OFCs. BBMP officials convened a meeting on Monday to discuss the menace of telecom companies digging roads to lay OFCs.  "With immediate effect, BBMP has cancelled all permissions given to companies that lay OFCs in BBMP limits. There will be strict action initiated on both companies and contractors who do not comply", BBMP Commissioner BH Anil Kumar stated following the meeting. Telecom companies now need to specifically mention the areas where OFCs will be laid and the number of chambers required before permission is given. Even though the OFCs are laid horizontally, roads have to be dug at regular intervals to create chambers, where the OFC is well protected and to ensure branching of the cable route. In spite of the blanket permission earlier, telecom companies and their vendors laying OFCs had to receive permission from the jurisdictional executive engineer before digging roads. Moreover, no road that has been asphalted in the last 12 months can be dug up again and, in both cases, recently asphalted roads were dug up for laying OFCs.  On October 9, the BBMP issued a Rs 25 lakh fine to Reliance Jio after a vendor associated with the company allegedly dug up a road in Sarjapur in Bengaluru without prior permission from the civic body. An FIR was also registered at the Bellandur Police Station under sections of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and under section 427 of the IPC (mischief causing damage). BBMP officials said that the road was recently relaid before it was found dug up overnight.  Read: Reliance Jio to face Rs 25 lakh fine after Bengaluru road dug up without permission A week later, Airtel was fined for a similar offence for allegedly damaging a 1.5 km stretch on Bannerghatta Road while laying OFCs. The company has to pay over Rs 68 lakh in total to the BBMP, which includes a fine component of Rs 25 lakh. An FIR was registered in this case as well after a BBMP official filed a complaint at Hulimavu police station.  Read: After Jio, Airtel slapped with fine for digging Bengaluru road without permission  

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Gulbarga Uni cancels Kanhaiya Kumar’s speech after ‘oral orders’ from Karnataka govt

Controversy

Kanhaiya Kumar called the cancellation of his address a “misuse of power” by the BJP.

TNM Staff

File image

In a controversial decision, the Gulbarga University administration cancelled an address by former JNU student union leader Kanhaiya Kumar “based on oral orders” from the Karnataka government just hours before the scheduled event on Tuesday.  The police have also imposed section 144 of CrPC in the area as a precaution against untoward incidents. The issue of granting Kanhaiya permission to speak at the university had been contentious from the beginning. In fact, the permission for Kanhaiya’s speech was earlier withdrawn on Sunday following pressure from ABVP, Ram Sene and other right-wing groups. But it was given again on the next day after the university administration met with Left and Dalit student groups. “Even the Syndicate decision to give permission to Kanhaiya’s programme was taken under pressure. Hundreds of students had gathered to pressurise the Syndicate members to give permission. After considering the possible disturbance of peace and law and order in the campus and the oral order from the Department of Higher Education, I withdrew the permission late in the evening on the same day,” The Hindu quoted Parimala Ambekar, Vice-Chancellor (Acting) of Gulbarga University, as saying.  Kanhaiya, who had recently contested the Lok Sabha elections unsuccessfully from Begusarai in Bihar, was set to speak at an event titled ‘Responsibility of Youth in Protecting Indian Constitution’ at Gulbarga University. Reacting to its cancellation, Kanhaiya responded saying that this was a “misuse of power”. “Permission was withdrawn owing to pressure from the BJP. Don’t people from other political parties and different streams of thought address the students in the university? What does your act of allowing the others and denying me mean? This is misuse of power,” Kanhaiya told reporters. Meanwhile, influential Andola Mutt seer Siddalinga Swamiji reportedly called the cancellation of Kanhaiya’s address a victory for Hindus, and said that they wouldn’t let the university to turn into another JNU. Speaking on the issue, Karnataka Deputy CM CN Ashwath Narayan, who also holds the Higher Education portfolio, said, “The university is not a place to discuss politics. These are places for learning.”

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MD of Bengaluru security firm seen brutally assaulting 2 employees, arrested

Crime

A suo motu case has been registered against the managing director Salim Khan, who has been booked for attempt to murder.

TNM Staff

Salim Khan

Bengaluru police arrested the managing director of a private security firm in the city on Tuesday after videos of him brutally assaulting two of his employees were shared widely on social media.  In the video clips, Salim Khan, the suspect, is seen standing on the neck of one of the men even as he begs him to let him go. The video goes on to show Salim stomp the head of one of the men repeatedly and jump on the other man's chest. The incident took place on Monday in HSR Layout in the city. Salim is also heard asking, "Who told you?" repeatedly to his employees even as they plead their innocence.   Disclaimer: The visuals may be disturbing, viewer discretion advised.  Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Isha Pant told reporters that the HSR Layout police officials registered a suo motu case against Salim after the videos surfaced on social media.  "There was a viral video on social media in which the MD of Bangalore Security Force (BSF) Salim Khan was seen assaulting two of his employees. We have booked a suo motu case under section 307 (attempt to murder) at the HSR Layout police station. There are six suspects in the case," Isha Pant, DCP (Southeast) said.  Salim was arrested on Tuesday evening while two other suspects were arrested on Tuesday morning. Salim was reportedly trying to evade arrest by hiding at a friend's residence.  The video was shared widely after one of the staffers uploaded the video on social media. It was also aired on television channels before Salim's eventual arrest. The two staffers, who are seen in the video being assaulted by Salim, are Farizuddin and Raizuddin, hailing from Assam.  The employees allegedly hatched a plan to abduct Salim since he didn't pay them and used to harass them when they asked for their salary. But Salim heard about the plan and assaulted the duo, a report by Deccan Herald stated.  Police officials are contemplating about writing to authorities to cancel Salim's security agency licence due to his criminal background. According to the police, he has more criminal cases filed against him filed in the past. 

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DK Shivakumar's wife, mother approach Delhi HC against ED summons

Court

Shivakumar's judicial custody was extended till October 25 on Monday.

IANS

The wife and mother of jailed Congress Karnataka leader D.K. Shivakumar on Tuesday approached the Delhi High Court challenging the summons issued to them by the Enforcement Directorate. The matter will come up for hearing on Wednesday. Gowarama, the mother of the Congress leader and Usha Shivakumar, his wife have approached the court seeking quashing of the summons issued against them. They were earlier summoned by the ED on Wednesday, October 17. The ED has earlier questioned Shivakumar's daughter Aishwarya; his brother and MP D.K. Suresh; and Belagavi Rural MLA Lakshmi Hebbalkar.  Earlier in the day, the high court heard the regular bail plea filed by Shivakumar. During the course of hearing, Shivakumar's legal team led by senor advocate Siddharth Luthra argued that the case against their client is a result of political rivalry. The court was also appraised of the medical condition of Shivakumar. His counsel told the court that the former leader underwent a surgery in last month and is in custody for more than a month. Justice Suresh Kumar Kait, who was hearing the bail plea, has now posted the matter for October 17. On the next date of hearing, the probe agency will put forth its stand. Meanwhile, during a separate hearing in the Rouse Avenue Court, Shivakumar was produced before the court of Special CBI Judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar. Shivakumar, who was arrested on September 3, in connection with a money laundering case is still in judicial custody more than a month after his arrest. His judicial custody was extended till October 25 on Monday Shivakumar is a former Water Resources and Power Minister of Karnataka. He is also seen as crucial to the Congress party in the state. An I-T raid at his New Delhi apartment on August 2, 2017, led to the seizure of unaccounted cash amounting to Rs 8.83 crore.    

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No relief for Shivakumar at HC as ED court extends judicial custody

Crime

Shivakumar was produced before a special judge at the Rouse Avenue Court as his judicial custody ended on Tuesday.

TNM Staff

File image/PTI

A special Enforcement Directorate court in Delhi court on Tuesday extended the judicial custody of former Karnataka Congress minister DK Shivakumar extended the judicial custody till October 25 in connection with an alleged money laundering case. Subsequently in the day, the Delhi High Court also adjourned his bail plea till October 17. Shivakumar, who is a former Water Resources and Power Minister in the state, was produced before a special judge at the Rouse Avenue Court on Tuesday as his judicial custody ended on Tuesday. This means the senior Congress leader in Karnataka will remain in Tihar jail, where he has been lodged since September 3 after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate. While his police (ED) custody ended on September 19, he has been remanded to judicial custody since then. Tuesday’s development comes as the ED has now summoned Shivakumar's wife and mother for questioning in connection with the same money laundering case. Earlier his daughter Aisshwarya, brother DK Suresh, Rural Bengaluru MP has been questioned too. ED officials claimed that summoning Shivakumar's mother and wife was necessitated after the agency got some evidence about financial transactions while questioning several other persons in the last one month. The ED had been probing accusations of money laundering registered against DK Shivakumar (DKS) since August 2017, when a cash amount of Rs 8.86 crore was found in his New Delhi residence.  Allegations against Shivakumar include that he along with his associates transferred unaccounted money through hawala transactions to the Congress top brass. On September 12, DK Shivakumar’s daughter Aishwarya too had appeared before the ED and was questioned for seven hours in connection with the case. At the time, officials from the ED stated that she was being questioned about a trust fund set up in her name.  The ED also interrogated her regarding the increase in her wealth between 2013 and 2018. Shivakumar had declared that his daughter held assets worth Rs 108 crore, ahead of the 2018 state assembly elections. However, in 2013, she supposedly had only Rs 1.09 crore. The ED has also questioned many of Shivakumar’s aides including Karnataka Congress MLA Laxmi Hebbalkar in this case. As part of the probe into the case back in 2017, the Income Tax Department found that some transactions made by him were linked to Lakshmi Hebbalkar. Further, when the raids first took place on August 2, 2017, Shivakumar had allegedly made a phone call to Lakshmi. (IANS inputs)

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Bengaluru doctors successfully remove undeveloped foetus from 2-month-old infant

Health

The infant was born with a rare condition called ‘foetus-in-fetu’ which literally means a foetus within a foetus.

Dr Nimeshika Jayachandran

Image for representation

When two-month-old Lineesh’s mother took him to the paediatrician for constipation, no one expected what the examination revealed. The doctor noticed a swelling in his abdominal region and advised the parents to take the child for an ultrasound scan. “When we did the scan, we got to know that this was a case of foetus-in-fetu,” says Gayathri P, Lineesh’s mother. ‘Foetus-in-fetu’ literally means foetus within a foetus as described by German anatomist Johan Friedrich Meckel. In this rare yet not unheard of condition, the pregnancy starts out as a twin pregnancy early on. While one of the embryos develops normally, the other becomes “trapped” within the abdomen or chest region of the normal embryo. This is thought to occur due to abnormal cell division which in some instances leads to the formation of conjoined twins. In this instance, it led to the development of a “parasitic twin” as foetus-in-fetu is sometimes referred to as. The boy was ultimately admitted at St Philomena’s Hospital in Bengaluru where a team of paediatric surgeons decided that surgical intervention was needed at the earliest. The boy was brought to the hospital where a team of paediatric surgeons were able to diagnose him with the condition after doing an MRI scan to confirm the presence of an undeveloped foetus inside. Doctors took the boy for surgery on Tuesday and were able to remove the other foetus inside. A group of paediatric surgeons including Dr Robert Charles and Dr Vedarth, performed the procedure. “The undeveloped foetus had been covered in a membrane, in the way that a normal foetus would be found inside a pregnant woman. We could tell that some features had begun to develop including hands and legs,” Dr Robert explained. The boy was kept under observation for a few days and sent home on Friday, just days after the surgery. “He’s active and doing well,” Gayathri says.

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