Former top cop alleges Rs 1,100 crore medical seat blocking scam underway in Karnataka

Crime

Shankar Mahadev Bidari posted on Facebook that Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences had written to the government last year, but RGUHS has denied the allegation.

TNM Staff

The Former Director General and Inspector General of Police Shankar Mahadev Bidari on Friday put up a series of posts on Facebook alleging that a huge medical seat blocking scam is underway in the state. Shankar Bidari alleged that the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences had written to the Karnataka government in September last year claiming there was a huge seat blocking scam worth Rs 1,100 crore among private medical colleges in the state. “Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) has written a letter to the Karnataka government on September 28, 2019 that by way of seat blocking, a scandal of Rs 1,100 crore has taken place in one year and that private medical colleges have collected Rs 1,100 crore. What is the state government and Income Tax Department doing?” he questioned. According to a report by Deccan Herald, RGUHS said that they had not made any communication to the government during September 2019 and the only recent communication about seat blocking was during admissions for the academic year 2018-19, which occurred before August 2018. In the seat-blocking scam, candidates who are suspected to make it to the top ranks in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Exam (NEET), block seats in private medical colleges by paying a nominal fee to the Karnataka Evaluation Authority and the students can surrender the blocked seats to the KEA in the final round of seat allocations. These seats are added to the management quota of private colleges, which are in turn sold for huge sums of money, TOI reported. The TOI report by Sunitha Rao R states that not only private medical colleges but the KEA also made Rs 40 crore in five academic years (2015-2020). This was the money it obtained when students forfeited their blocked seats, who later surrendered them to KEA. KEA collects the college fees from selected candidates and has to transfer it to the private colleges. If candidates back out, KEA withholds the fees that are paid and so far it has made Rs 40 crore, the TOI report added. Students who surrender blocked seats must also pay a penalty of Rs 10,000 to the Directorate of Medical Education in addition to the first-year college fee that is forfeited by KEA, the report said. Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences has submitted a report to the Medical Education Department stating that reforms must be brought in to put an end to the scam, the TOI report stated. However, Minister for Medical Education Dr K Sudhakar on Friday promised to probe the matter over Bidari’s allegation. “If Shankar Bidari provides documents relating to his posts, we will initiate an inquiry. Anyhow Bidari is my friend, and I will discuss the same with him,” DH quoted him as saying.    

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Bengaluru cops bust QR code scam after gang allegedly impersonates city’s top cop

Crime

Jamil, the mastermind of the scam, allegedly cheated a Bengaluru resident of Rs 50,000 by posing as Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao.

TNM Staff

  A gang of five from Rajasthan were arrested in Bengaluru for allegedly scamming money out of people by committing QR code fraud. The group even allegedly created a WhatsApp contact using the name of Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao in at least one instance of fraud.  The Central Crime Branch sleuths on Friday arrested five men — Karan Singh (35), Akram Khan (18), Aris Khan (21), Jamil (42), and Mehzair Khan (20). The arrests helped the police resolve around 200 cases of QR Code fraud in the city, The Hindu reported. Deccan Herald reported that most of the QR code frauds reported from in Bengaluru over the past one year were allegedly committed by this same gang. Modus operandi The gang members allegedly cheated sellers on OLX, Quickr and other ecommerce sites. Posing as buyers of the products on sale, Jamil, the mastermind of the gang and his accomplices, would generally contact people selling furniture, vehicles and electronics, the DH report added. They would allegedly agree to buy the product after a short chat with the seller. Once the seller is convinced, they would send the seller a QR code of any UPI apps and ask them to scan it, stating it would facilitate the bank account transfer, The Hindu reports. Police said that the gang would convince the sellers that it was for additional safety from phishing expeditions. Police say that the sellers would end up losing the money that was agreed to during the sale of the product to Jamil or one of his gang members once the QR code was scanned on their phones. According to The Hindu report, Jamil, who was convicted of stealing vehicles a few years ago and was out of jail, was the mastermind of the plot. The man in charge of operations was Aris, who had allegedly worked in HDFC Bank, Google Pay and PayTM. Police said that Aris is an expert in creating fake QR codes. He also managed the bank account where all the skimmed money was deposited. Mehzair and Akram were in charge of chatting with people and negotiating the sale. How the gang used the Police Commissioner’s name to skim money The gang gave wrong names to its customers and claimed to be police officers or from the forces. Jamil allegedly downloaded Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao’s photo from the internet. He then saved it on WhatsApp as his DP. He also claimed to be Bhaskar Rao while conversing with sellers. He allegedly impersonated Bhaskar Rao to extract revenge on the Bengaluru Police as they were trying to nab the gang, the DH report added. Jamil allegedly contacted 60-year-old Sridhar, a resident of Hulimavu who wanted to sell his treadmill on OLX and allegedly cheated him of Rs 50,000 in January this year. Shridhar allegedly filed a complaint with the police after which the incident came to light, the CCB sleuths said. CCB sleuths tracked down the gang’s family to Bharatpur in Rajasthan. DH said in its report that the family members would send their minor relatives to pose as the suspects, making it difficult for the police to interrogate. However, the investigators were able to track down the five men and arrest them.

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‘Didn't think I'd run so fast’: Kambala jockey hailed as 'Usain Bolt' for record run

Buffalo Racing

According to the referees at the event, he ran 142.50 metres in 13.62 seconds, considered the fastest run in the traditional buffalo racing sport.

Prajwal Bhat

Until this month, Srinivas Gowda was relatively unknown outside of the Kambala circuit in Dakshina Kannada. The 28-year-old has now shot to fame after a record-breaking performance at a Kambala racing event in Aikala in the district.    According to the referees at the event, he ran 142.50 metres in 13.62 seconds, considered the fastest run in the traditional buffalo racing sport. People also compared Srinivas's performance to Usain Bolt after calculating that the man from Dakshina Kannada ran 100 metres in 9.55 seconds, which is 0.03 seconds faster than the Jamaican world record holder.    "I did not think I would run this fast. The buffaloes were quick and I followed them," says Srinivas sheepishly when asked about the feat. He was aided by the buffaloes pulling him along but he also had to overcome the struggles of running on a slushy field.    Hailing from Mijar in Dakshina Kannada, Srinivas is a construction worker during the off-season. But from November to March, when Kambala races are traditionally held, he focuses solely on taking part and winning kambala events.    What is Kambala?   Kambala is a traditional slush-track buffalo race which is popular in the coastal districts of Karnataka. In these races, a pair of buffaloes tied to a plough run in parallel slush tracks, with a farmer controlling them.    On February 1, during the Kambala event in Aikala, all eyes were on buffaloes owned by Bada Poojary of Iruvail village. The jockey running with the buffaloes was Srinivas, who had trained for the race for more than a month. “I mainly exercise and swim everyday. Once a week, I practice running on the slushy track,” says Srinivas.     The sport, which has been in the news for its battle with PETA over animal rights, was allowed to continue in 2017. A ban on the sport was lifted after the President gave assent to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Karnataka Amendment) Ordinance of 2017, which excluded Kambala from the sports that were considered to involve animal cruelty. 

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Escaping the coronavirus 'petri dish': Doctor, lawmakers seek evacuations from quarantined cruise

"This is no quarantine — it's just a pack of people," said a doctor who's stuck on the ship.

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With a build up and new logo, RCB wanted drum roll, instead get eye roll

Social Media

The team debuted its new logo, however, little else about the team’s image has changed.

TNM Staff

When the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) went dark on social media earlier this week, rumours quickly started spreading on what the team was up to: Were they changing their name? Were they finally going to turn Bangalore into Bengaluru? Would fans ever chant “RCB” in Chinnaswamy stadium again? And why hadn’t anyone told Virat Kohli? On Friday, the Bengaluru’s IPL franchise put an end to that speculation. The team debuted its newly-modified logo featuring the crowned lion. However, little else about the team’s image has changed, even though a section of fans have been demanding the change from Bangalore to Bengaluru.    Some fans rolled their eyes at the team’s dramatic stunt. Lol. All that build up just for this. https://t.co/ZrD09V4qn1 — absy (@absycric) February 14, 2020 Team k log change karo logo nahi https://t.co/jUDKqq9Cve — Vipul Singh (@vipul_actually) February 14, 2020 Waah kya mast bevkoof banaya hai fans ko #rcbnewlogo https://t.co/gM0QPIKsxw — Come On India (@madam_jadeja) February 14, 2020 Earlier this week, RCB deleted all their posts, profiles and cover photos on social media channels, fueling fan rumours and even evoking a few curious comments from players and stalwarts of the game.  “Posts disappear and the captain isn’t informed. @rcbtweets, let me know if you need any help.” RCB skipper and national team captain Virat Kohli tweeted.  Indian ace spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and fellow teammates South African AB De Viilers and Mike Hesson, director of cricket operations of RCB also wondered what was going on. (Though it’s not clear whether they were in on the marketing strategy). Posts disappear and the captain isn’t informed.  @rcbtweets, let me know if you need any help. — Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) February 13, 2020 Arey @rcbtweets, what googly is this? Where did your profile pic and Instagram posts go?  — Yuzvendra Chahal (@yuzi_chahal) February 12, 2020 Hyderabad Sunrisers offered a “You OK, bro?” to the Bengaluru team, while Delhi Capitals asked if they needed any help with the rebrand (Delhi changed their name from the Daredevils after the 2017 season).  In case you're rebranding, do let us know if you need any help, @RCBTweets! We know a thing or two  pic.twitter.com/1nKpDJ7SbV — Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) February 12, 2020 The new logo was released ahead of the 13th season of the mega popular tournament set to begin in March.  “The elements in the logo is a commitment to continuously entertain and engage with fans who are the force behind Royal Challengers Bangalore. We believe a change in identity for the club was necessary to effectively live and breathe this vision and celebrate the passion for cricket and playing bold,” news agency PTI quoted Sanjeev Churiwala, Chairman of Royal Challengers Bangalore as saying. This new logo launched also coincides with a new title sponsorship deal the team drew with Muthoot Fincorp Ltd.

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Bidar sedition case: After spending 2 weeks in jail, mother, teacher finally get bail

Bidar sedition case

The two women will be released against a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh each, the Bidar court said.

Prajwal Bhat

After spending more than two weeks in prison over an anti-NRC play, the mother of a student and a head-teacher at Shaheen Primary and High School in Bidar were granted bail by the district and sessions court on Friday. The two will be released against a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh each, the court said.  “The accused/petitioners will be released on bail… on their executing personal bond in a sum of Rs. 1 lakh each with two sureties for the like sum to the satisfaction of the Jurisdictional Magistrate,” Judge M Premavathi said in her bail order.  The two women have also been asked by the court to appear before the investigating officer in the case when they are called upon.  “We are happy to hear that bail was granted to both the teacher and the mother of the student. We still can’t believe that a satirical play critical of NRC attracted a charge of sedition,” Touseef Madikeri, CEO of Shaheen Primary and High School told TNM after the bail was confirmed.  The school management was charged with sedition over a play, staged by students of classes 4, 5 and 6 on January 21, which voiced dissent against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).  Nazbunnisa, the mother of a student, and Fareeda Begum, the head-teacher of the school's primary section, were arrested on January 30. The bail granted on Friday means that Nazbunnisa will finally be reunited with her daughter after two weeks.  For the last two weeks, the two women were lodged in Bidar District Prison even as 11-year-old Ayesha* (name changed) waited for her mother to return. Nazbunissa is a widow and her arrest had left Ayesha in the care of their neighbour, Hafeez. She was shifted to the school hostel this week. Police officials in Bidar questioned students at the school five times, a move that drew widespread criticism. “We were surprised that our children were questioned for five days at the school. We cannot blame the complainant because it is due to the failure of the executive i.e the police department that we are facing sedition charges today,” Touseef added.  Representing the two women in court, advocate BT Venkatesh had, during the hearing on February 11, argued that the case was politically motivated and that two women in a place like Bidar were not a threat to the state. He stated that the slogans in the play did not create unrest and promote disaffection towards the government. He added that the contents of the play did not amount to sedition.  The public prosecutor argued that the women would leave the country and possibly destroy evidence if they are granted bail. The prosecutor cited the recent case of Kris Chudawala, who was booked along with 50 others for sedition in Mumbai. The arguments in the case were completed on February 11 and the bail orders were posted for February 14.  The police complaint against the school was filed by Nilesh Rakshala, a right-wing activist, on January 26. He accused the school management of 'insulting' Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the play. Police turned up to question students at the school connected with the play on five occasions. Police officials enquired about the dialogues in the play and about the involvement of the teachers and parents in the play. 

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MLA NA Haris' tirade against Congress leaders exposes the unrest in Karnataka unit

Politics

Siddaramaiah, once considered the most powerful Congress leader in Karnataka, is left with almost no lieutenants to back him.

Theja Ram

Karnataka Congress MLA NA Haris has been in the news often for his son – Mohammed Haris Nalapad’s involvement in a car accident this week and prior to that for assaulting a man in an uptown café in 2018. However, NA Haris’ statement on Thursday has gone more or less unnoticed, although he has been critical of his own party. In a series of tweets, NA Haris accused Congress leaders in Karnataka of not working hard enough to build the party. Haris also accused the state leaders of furthering their personal agendas instead of uplifting the party. “I am a loyal Congressman. However, it is worrisome that the Congress party has not become alert after multiple losses in elections. Why are party office bearers here? To build up the party or to further their own personal agendas?” NA Haris said. Haris also said that the results of the New Delhi Assembly elections and that the Congress party must contemplate its mistakes. “The party must correct its mistakes as the country needs the Congress party but no one is doing that. The party must learn lessons from the losses and not get used to it,” he added. ನಾನೊಬ್ಬ ಕಟ್ಟಾ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ಸಿಗ ಆದರೆ @INCIndia ಪಕ್ಷ ಹಲವಾರು ಸೋಲುಗಳ ನಡುವೆಯೂ ಎಚ್ಚೆತ್ತುಕೊಳ್ಳದೇ ಇರುವುದು ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ ಆತಂಕಕಾರಿ .ಪಕ್ಷದಲ್ಲಿ ಪದಾಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳು ಇರುವುದು ಯಾವ ಕೆಲಸಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಪಕ್ಷವನ್ನು ಕಟ್ಟುವುದಕ್ಕಾಗಿಯೊ? ಅಥವಾ ತಮ್ಮ ಸ್ವ ಹಿತಾಸಕ್ತಿಗಳಿಗಾಗಿ ಪಕ್ಷವನ್ನು ಬಲಿ ಕೊಡುವುದಕ್ಕಾಗಿಯೊ? 1/3 — N A Haris (@mlanaharis) February 13, 2020 Congress sources say that NA Haris is also unhappy with the state leaders for not politicizing the issue of Revenue Minister R Ashoka’s son allegedly being involved in a car crash that killed two people. Though NA Haris has personal motives behind his tirade, his words, however, ring true say many in the Congress. A splintered Karnataka Congress and lazy leaders? Party sources say that ever since Siddaramaiah resigned from his post of Congress Legislature Party Leader and Dinesh Gundu Rao stepped down as the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President, the party’s organization structure in the state has splintered drastically. Siddaramaiah, once considered the most powerful Congress leader in Karnataka, is left with almost no lieutenants to back him. The rebels, who resigned, were the leaders who had projected himself as his loyalist.  “Most of the elected leaders are not interested in working hard. None of them want to work actively to ensure that the opposition is strong. This has left the cadre too disinterested in working. Siddaramaiah went from being a leader that everyone trusted to a leader they could not trust,” the source said. Between 2013 and 2018, when Siddaramaiah was at the helm of affairs in the Karnataka Congress, he allegedly divided the party’s state unit on caste lines, leaving several community heads disgruntled. Despite Siddaramaiah projecting himself as the Ahinda leader, a large chunk of his vote base has now shifted their loyalties, including those from his own community – the Kurubas. “Siddaramaiah began ignoring demands and needs of leaders from all other communities including OBCs and Dalits. He only focused on the Kuruba community and after the 2018 Assembly elections, a large chunk of the Kuruba community’s loyalties have begun to shift towards the BJP,” the Congress leader said. Party sources say that several leaders within the Congress have now distanced themselves away from Siddaramaiah and that most of them are disinterested in taking up the task of building up the party. “They are just lazy and do not want to work hard. There were many chances when the Congress could have emerged stronger. The leaders could have gone and protested in Bidar until the case was withdrawn. The Muslim community makes up a huge chunk of the Congress’vote base. None of the party leaders are standing up for their own vote bank,” a Congress functionary said.    

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