Software engineer-turned-drug trader, main link in Bengaluru drug case, arrested

Drugs

Pratheek Shetty was first arrested in 2018 for possession of cocaine, he has been arrested again.

Theja Ram

Bengaluru's Central Crime Branch sleuths on Friday arrested alleged drug peddler Pratheek Shetty in connection with the drug case the agency is currently investigating. Pratheek has been named as accused number 15 in the FIR registered at the Cottonpet Police Station.  The CCB arrested Pratheek Shetty based on the confession procured from Ragini Dwivedi's friend Ravi Shankar. The CCB says it found chats between Ravi Shankar and Pratheek Shetty where the duo allegedly exchanged pictures of contraband. CCB sources have accused Ravi Shankar of procuring drugs from Pratheek for a few years now, which he then supplied to parties attended by Sandalwood celebrities.  Pratheek Shetty was also one of the three accused persons arrested by the Banaswadi Police in 2018 and 1,290 gm of cocaine and 1,930 gm of MDMA pills were seized. Three men including Faith Chucks, a South african national, Kante Hery from Guinea and Pratheek Shetty, a resident of New Thippasandra, were arrested then. At the time, Pratheek Shetty was allegedly selling drugs to Ravi Shankar but had not disclosed the information to the police.  Pratheek Shetty allegedly came to Bengaluru in 2010 when he got a job as a software engineer. He lived in Karachanahalli and allegedly began consuming synthetic drugs. Police say that he turned to peddling drugs in the subsequent years after he came into contact with student dealers, who were from African countries. "He developed contacts of peddlers in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, where he used to source drugs from. He has been doing this since 2010," a CCB officer said. In the 2018 case, the Banaswadi Police received a tip off that three men had huge amounts of drugs in their backpacks and were standing outside Jyoti High School. A woman officer, who went to check upon the tip, cornered the three men and arrested them. At the time, 750 gm of cocaine was found in Faith Chucks' possession while Kante Henry had 450 gm of cocaine on him and Pratheek had 90 gm. For over a year, the trio were lodged in judicial custody. In 2019, Pratheek's lawyer filed a bail petition in the Karnataka High Court and argued that he was not in possession of a commercial quantity of cocaine. As per the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 100 gm or more of cocaine is considered a commercial quantity. Pratheek Shetty was let out on bail in 2019.  "Soon after he got out of jail, he did not deal drugs for a while and picked up peddling once again. He had contacts with people from African countries and in other states and so he started peddling again. He also sold drugs to Ravi Shankar. Ragini Dwivedi met Pratheek Shetty through Ravi Shankar," the CCB officer added.    

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Open manholes and dug up roads a threat to safety in Bengaluru's Trinity layout

Civic issues

The roads in Trinity and Janakiram layouts in the Central Business District of Bengaluru have been dug up for months, complaint residents.

Rishab Vinay Malde

All images: Lt. Col Manoj Cherian

A single day of rain has turned a road in Janakiram, Trinity layouts, Bengaluru into a nightmare for commuters and residents. The situation, however, is not new. The residents have been asking for the road to be rebuilt for the past eight months. Their constant efforts have yielded no favourable result. The roads have been dug up and left open, leaving severely risky manholes, potholes and broken roads flooded with water during the rains. The manholes have simply been left open, sewage and rainwater drains have made it worse, with construction debris that has made residents more. Speaking to TNM, Lt. Col Manoj Cherian, a resident of Janakiram layout, said that all the main and inner roads have been made a mess by the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike). "They have been digging to put sewage lines but they don't cover it up. Your life and limb, your vehicles and everything is at risk. Once it rains, you don't know where the hole is. You can see all over Bangalore that they are digging up and putting new sewage lines. But the minimum that they can do is fill it up properly, ensure that when it rains, the holes don't reappear. You put yourself at risk because all the mud is simply just put on top without even compacting it. You don't know whether you are riding on the road or the sea."  Another resident of the area, Priyanka George, also expressed her concerns over the plight of the residents. Talking to TNM, she said, "It started about eight months back, just before the lockdown. They keep digging all the roads in the layout. There is not one road that they have spared in the name of digging it up. Talking of my road, the Trinity Layout Road, it was one of the best roads around. The condition is terrible now. They dig it up and expose these manholes and the mud is also not put back. As and when it rains, there are water drains and they keep constructing on top of these as well. The sewage and rainwater drains are really messed up and during rains all the water is either on the road or in the low-lying areas."  Speaking of how risky it can get for the residents, she said, "We hit a manhole and my car is damaged to a very bad condition. They come to dig and do not put the mud back properly as well. They keep bringing big trucks on already dug up roads which are already in a bad condition. The manholes are solid concrete ones and it is dangerous. If you just hit one part of your body you could die as well. It's not just the inconvenience it causes, it is also risky given the amount to which it is exposed."  Lt. Col Manoj Cherian added, "The laying of sewage chambers in a haphazard manner with no compacting has led to a very dangerous situation where big holes have come up with the rains as the mud has got washed away. This is a real danger to limb and life. We can somehow manage on a four wheeler, but it is suicidal on a two wheeler or if you are a pedestrian. We have been in this area for 14 years and the living conditions have gone from bad to worse."  Despite a number of complaints being made, petitions submitted, things have gone on to become worse. "We reached out to many people many times. Because of COVID-19, now nothing will happen. There has been no response. We went to the MLA before the lockdown. We have complained many times but nothing has changed. So we are thinking of meeting the MLA again, now that the Covid has relaxed a bit. We want to get people from the whole Janakiram layout, maybe 100-200 people or more. Unless people are interested in getting some action done, we will live in the same filth for the next 20 years," said Lt. Col Manoj Cherian, who is still determined to get the necessary action taken to improve the conditions.  "We have met directly with the BBMP contractors who are carrying out this work. Other residents and association members of this area have also reached out I guess. We last met the local MLA just before the lockdown was imposed towards the end of March. Since the situation and ground conditions are only getting worse, and with relaxation of the COVID-19 safety norms, we are now planning to meet the local authorities as a collective group. So we are reaching out to all resident associations in this area. We feel that only a collective effort can get some improvement," he further added.  Not willing to give up on the efforts, Priyanka stated, "There has been no response or absolutely no follow-up for the number of times all the residents have gone to meet the local MLA, for the number of petitions we have given. Nothing has happened. We have to keep going and visiting officials and keep fighting till something happens. We are trying to get people from all the concerned associations of the area."  When asked if she sees any change happening anytime soon, she said, "It just doesn't change. If you look at the history, I don't think anything will change. They are only going to campaign when it is time for us to vote and probably act on 1% of the issues. We can't be living with this. It is such a risk to people's lives. With the rains, the roads are worse than dirt tracks. The entire layout looks like a small river when water is logged. We cannot even take the scooter or two wheeler out easily once it rains."  Whether there is even a slight improvement in the terrible condition of the roads, will the plight of the residents be acknowledged with the required action being taken, or things continue to keep getting worse, further increasing the risk to people's lives, only time shall tell. 

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Wonder what happens to drugs seized by the police? TNM explains

Drugs

All state governments are ordered to dispose of drugs seized in any case after the evidence is recorded.

Theja Ram

Representation photo

The Bengaluru police on Thursday seized over a ton of marijuana, which was stored in an underground space at a goat farm in Kalaburagi. When large amounts of drugs are seized, one of the questions that arises is: How do the police dispose of these drugs? Until 2018, the Bengaluru police were burning drugs in an open space near the respective police stations after obtaining a court order. However, burning huge amounts of narcotic drugs is against the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Keeping this in mind, the police finally formed a committee which contains Karnataka State Pollution Control Board officials and the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime-1) as the nodal officer to oversee environment-friendly disposal of narcotic drugs.  What happens when drugs are seized? In 2015, the Department of Revenue under the Union Ministry of Finance had issued an order to all state governments that drugs seized in any case must be disposed of immediately. The order was issued to avoid misuse of drugs. "There have been many instances where small quantities of drugs have gone missing from places where they were stored. Hence, once the drugs are seized and samples are sent for testing to the forensic lab, we have to destroy it," a senior police official said.  In Bengaluru, seized drugs are kept in the corner room in a structure located between the old and new buildings at the Police Commissionerate's office. Once the drugs are seized, photographic and videographic evidence of the seizures are collected. The evidence is submitted to a magistrate, who orders the disposal of these drugs. "We can't destroy drugs without a court order and even the 2015 government order requires a magistrate's approval," the official said.  How are drugs disposed of? The 2015 order also mandated that all state governments establish a Drug Disposal Committee to ensure that the process of disposal is in compliance with the Pollution Control Board's norms. The committee must contain an officer with the rank of Superintendent of Police, the Joint Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise and Joint Director of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence along with PCB officials.  However, drugs can be disposed only if the total amount of drugs in possession weighs a certain prescribed amount, police officers say.  "In 2018, with the help of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, we identified a factory in Magadi, where drugs are disposed of in incinerators. These are boilers with temperatures of 1000 degrees and the drugs are disposed of safely. The NDPS Act allows us to auction synthetic drugs to drug companies if they can be recycled but we have not done that due to fear of misuse," a senior officer, who was formerly the Police Commissioner of Bengaluru said.  However, if the drugs are of smaller quantities and are not synthetic ones, the police burn it in an open space close to the jurisdictional station. "If it is ganja or hashish or hash oil, which weigh 100 gm or 200 gm, then it is burned in an empty plot. Generally it is done late in the night when people are not around. Smaller quantities of synthetic drugs are stored and once there is enough to incinerate, it is disposed of in a timely manner," the officer said.    

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Bengaluru recorded 4,143 new active containment zones on Thursday

COVID-19

RR Nagara has 4,689 active containment zones.

TNM Staff

Bengaluru has a total of 19,680 containment zones as on Thursday, an increase of 4,143 zones as compared to Wednesday, according to a bulletin by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The highest number of containment zones are in RR Nagara with 4,689 active containment zones.  RR Nagara is followed by Bengaluru South with 2,960 active containment zones, Bengaluru West at 2,881, Bommanahalli at 2,880, Bengaluru East at 2,111, Mahadevapura at 1,917, Yelahanka at 1,210, and Dasarahalli at 1,032. Bengaluru recorded 3,161 COVID-19 cases on Thursday, with 1,672 new recoveries and 33 deaths.  Of the new cases on Thursday, Yelanhaka and Bengaluru West saw the most number of cases, with 16% of cases each. This is followed by Bengaluru East at 15%, Bengaluru South at 14%, Bommanahalli at 13%, Mahadevapura and RR Nagara at 11% each, and Dasarahalli at 4%.  The total number of active COVID-19 cases in Karnataka breached the one lakh mark on Thursday, with the state reporting 9,217 new cases of coronavirus infections and 129 related fatalities. This takes the total number of infections in the state to 4,30,947 and death toll to 6,937. The day also saw 7,021 patients getting discharged after recovery. As of September 10 evening, cumulatively 4,30,947 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 6,937 deaths and 3,22,454 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin. It said, out of 1,01,537 active cases, 1,00,769 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 768 are in ICU. According the bulletin, 33 out of total 129 deaths reported on Thursday are from Bengaluru urban, followed by Mysuru (13), Dakshina Kannada and Hassan (9), Dharwad and Uttara Kannada (8), Ballari (7); Shivamogga (5), Koppal Udupi (4), Davangere, Mandya, Raichur and Vijayapura (3), Belagavi, Chikkamagaluru, Gadag, Kalaburagi, Kolar and Tumakuru (2), Bagalkote, Chikkaballapura, Haveri, Kodagu and Yadgir (1). Most of the dead are either with a history of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) or Influenza-like illness (ILI). Among the districts where the new cases were reported, apart from Bengaluru, Mysuru accounted for 635, Shivamogga 549 (cumulative of last 2 days), Ballari 375, Tumakuru 365, Dakshina Kannada 350, Davangere 297, Dharwad 264, Belagavi 263, followed by others. Bengaluru urban district tops the list of positive cases, with a total of 1,60,205 infections, followed by Ballari 25,404 and Mysuru 23,773. Among discharges too Bengaluru urban tops the list with total 1,14,208 discharges, followed by Ballari 20,616 and Mysuru 16,408. A total of 35,86,150 samples were tested so far, out of which 54,709 were tested on Thursday alone. Among the samples tested today, 25,468 were rapid antigen tests.

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Ban motorised traffic in Bengaluru's Cubbon Park, IISc report recommends

Transport

Vehicular traffic was thrown open inside the park on Wednesday nearly six months after it was restricted amid the lockdown.

TNM Staff

A report by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) released on Thursday called for the Karnataka government to ban motorised traffic in Cubbon Park in the centre of Bengaluru. Professor Ashish Verma from the Transport Systems Engineering cell of IISc along with researchers Hemanthini Allirani and Harsha Vajjarapu, studied the impact of the vehicle ban on traffic in central Bengaluru and called for vehicular traffic to be completely banned in Cubbon Park, Times of India reported. Vehicular traffic was thrown open inside the park on Wednesday, nearly six months after it was restricted amid the lockdown imposed over the outbreak of coronavirus cases in March 2020.  Earlier, the Bengaluru traffic police had submitted a study to the state government asking it to lift the ban on vehicular traffic in Cubbon Park as it increased the traffic in nearby areas of central Bengaluru.  However, IISc professors in their report, studying the network of origins and destinations of trips in Bengaluru, said that closing motorised traffic within the park would benefit both commuters and the environment. The researchers noted that, with the ban, "travellers re-adjust their routes in a such a manner that it is resulting in overall reduction in the total vehicle kilometre travelled" which will reduce by 1.4 lakh km (from 32.08 million km to 31.94 million km), Deccan Herald reported.  The traffic in central Bengaluru was also at its worst when the park was open for traffic, the researchers added. Earlier, the government body Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT),  recommended to the Karnataka government to close Cubbon Park for motorised traffic and parking of vehicles. The body urged that the park could be used by pedestrians and cyclists as a short-cut. Cubbon Park is located between the High Court and Chinnaswamy Stadium and near the state secretariat Vidhana Soudha in the centre of the city.

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ED attaches properties of Sandalwood producer worth Rs 31 crore in fraud case

Crime

Sandalwood producer Anand Balakrishna Appugol is being investigated in the Krantiveer Sangolli Rayanna Urban Co-Operative Society fraud case.

IANS

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday attached assets worth Rs 31.35 crore in the Krantiveer Sangolli Rayanna Urban Co-Operative Society fraud case involving Sandalwood producer Anand Balakrishna Appugol under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). Appugol has produced the super hit Kannada movie "Sangolli Rayanna" starring Kannada super star Darshan. Krantiveer Sangolli Rayanna is an iconic freedom fighter from Belagavi district, who along with the famous Kitturu Rani Chennamma fought the Brtishers. The Kitturu principality is located in Belagavi district bordering Maharashtra, which is 500 km from Bengaluru. According to the press release issued by the department, the ED attached 31 immovable assets and balances in 32 bank accounts amounting to Rs 31.35 crore of Appugol, the Chairman of Krantiveer Sangolli Rayanna Co-Operative Society, and his associates under the PMLA. The note further added that the ED initiated investigations under the PMLA based on the FIR registered by the Khadebazar Police Station, Belagavi City, in 2017 against Anand Balakrishna Appugol, Chairman of Krantiveer Sangolli Rayanna Co-Operative Society, and 15 others for embezzling more than Rs 232.69 crore collected from more than 1,300 members through fixed deposits by promising them high rate of interest ranging from 12 to 16 per cent per annum. The note claimed that the accused did not return the money to the public in time and committed breach of trust and cheated the public at large. The ED note added that the investigation under PMLA revealed that during the period between 12.08.2017 and 01.09.2017, Anand Appugol, Chairman and Managing Director, Board of Directors, Krantiveer Sangolli Rayanna Co-Operative Society, colluded with others to divert funds and large sums collected from the gullible investors. "These funds were further layered into immovable properties in the name of accused Anand Appugol and others. Investigation conducted so far lead to the identification of the proceeds of crime in the form of 31 immovable properties consisting of agricultural land, commercial complexes, house etc. in Belgavi district, held in the name of Anand Appugol, his wife Prema Appugol and Shivmurthy Chivgol, both directors, Mahantesh Angadi, assistant secretary of the society, and Sanjay Patil, a close associate of Anand Appugol, and others. "These identified immovable assets along with balances lying in 32 bank accounts have been provisionally attached under PMLA," the note said.

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Karnataka declares 130 taluks in 23 districts as flood-hit

Disaster

The government made this declaration following a report by the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC).

TNM Staff

Flooding in Kodagu

The Karnataka government on Thursday declared 130 taluks in 23 districts as flood affected in the state, and ordered government officials to take up relief measures. The government has made a declaration to this effect following a report by the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC). In the backdrop of loss of lives, houses, crops and basic infrastructure due to torrential rain and floods in this August monsoon season, 130 taluks in 23 districts of the state have been declared flood affected with immediate effect until further orders, the state government order said. The government has ordered the district administration to take necessary relief measures in the taluks that have been declared flood affected in accordance with state disaster relief fund (SDRF) /NDRF norms and by strictly following the orders or circulars issued by the government from time to time, it added. The government noted that due to torrential rain in the state in August and heavy inflow from neighbouring Maharashtra into the Krishna basin, there were floods in several parts of north Karnataka, and during the same time there were floods in coastal and Malnad region too, causing damage. While rivers swelled up across the state, landslides were reported in the Western Ghats region. A major landslide in Karnataka's Kodagu district took the lives of five people including the chief priest of the Talacauvery temple in Kodagu. Meanwhile, Belagavi district has the highest number of 14 taluks that have been declared flood affected, while the least is in Chamarajanagara and Mandya with one taluk each. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa had on Monday told a central team which visited the state to assess the damage, that Karnataka has suffered a loss of Rs 8,071 crore due to the recent floods. Heavy rainfall since August 1 has killed at least 20 people, displaced thousands, damaged more than 10,000 homes and crops in about 4.03 lakh hectares, and wrecked 14,182 km of roads.        

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