Sandalwood drug case: Bengaluru police arrest alleged drug supplier

Sandalwood

A statement released by the Joint Commissioner of Police Sandeep Patil said that the accused Ashwin Bhogi was detained in Chikkamagaluru.

TNM Staff

CCB Bengaluru

 The Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Bengaluru Police on Tuesday nabbed Ashwin Bhogi, allegedly involved in the high-profile Sandalwood drugs case, from Chikkamagalur. A statement released by the Joint Police Commissioner Sandeep Patil said that the accused Ashwin Bhogi was detained in Chikkamagaluru. "He is being brought to Bengaluru for further inquiry," Patil said and added that the accused was on the run ever since the case was registered. "After a detailed investigation, the CCB zeroed in on his hideout in Chikkamagalur and detained him since Monday evening," the CCB claimed. A senior police official told IANS that the accused Ashwin Bhogi was one of the key drug suppliers in this case, as his links with Nigerian drug peddlers came to light when the police had arrested a number of African drug peddlers in this case. The case pertains to alleged drug use among influential persons including Kannada film actors Ragini Dwivedi, Sanjjanaa Galrani, party organiser Viren Khanna, realtor Rahul Tonse, among others. Other than the probe by the CCB, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also probing the two actors - Ragini and Sanjjanaa -  along with other co-accused on charges of money laundering. A few key accused in the case, including Aditya Alva, the brother-in-law of Bollywood star Vivek Oberoi, are still at large. A look-out notice was issued in September for Aditya Alva. Police have also questioned actors Aindrita Ray and Diganth in connection with the case. The CCB is investigating the drugs case after the Narcotics Control Bureau arrested three people hailing from Kerala in Bengaluru, who were allegedly supplying drugs to Kannada film actors and singers last month. The case has been followed closely by the media in Karnataka. Explosive new information’ or “mega exclusives”, often including details from the lives of the two women - Ragini and Sanjjana - have been a regular feature of news media coverage around the case.

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Karnataka BJP picks Munirathna and Rajesh Gowda as candidates for bye-polls

Politics

Dr. Rajesh Gowda, a radiologist recently joined the BJP in Tumakuru while Munirathna joined the party in 2019 after defecting from the Congress.

TNM Staff

Munirathna

The Karnataka BJP on Tuesday announced Rajesh Gowda and Munirathna as the party's candidates in the upcoming bye-elections in Sira and RR Nagar constituencies respectively. Dr. Rajesh Gowda, a radiologist recently joined the BJP in Tumakuru while Munirathna joined the party in 2019 after defecting from the Congress. The by-election in RR Nagar has been necessitated by the resignation of then Congress MLA Munirathna, who jumped ship to the BJP. The bypoll in Sira is being held following the death of JD(S) legislator B Satyanarayana on August 5 after prolonged illness. The bypoll in RR Nagar could not be held on December 5, 2019 along with by-elections in 15 assembly segments across the state, as its result in the May 2018 assembly polls was challenged in the Karnataka High Court by its BJP runner-up Muniraju Gowda on alleged electoral malpractice by Munirathna. The court disposed off the case in favour of Munirathna in February and then by the Supreme Court on Tuesday following which Munirathna was given the ticket by the party to contest in the bye-elections.  Congress has fielded former Minister TB Jayachandra from Sira while picking a fresh face - Kusuma H, an assistant professor at an engineering college and wife of IAS officer D K Ravi, who died in March, 2015, from RR Nagar. The then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of the Congress directed the CBI to probe Ravi's death after allegations that Congress MLAs had harassed the officer. The probe in its closure report stated that Ravi had ended his own life. JD(S) has already announced that the wife of late MLA Sathyanarayana Ammajamma will be the party's candidate in Sira.   

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Kangana Ranaut booked by Karnataka police for tweet against farmers

Controversy

Kangana had alleged in her tweet that those protesting against the farm laws are 'terrorists.'

TNM Staff

Kangana Ranaut / PTI

An FIR has been registered against actor Kangana Ranaut over her tweets against farmers following the orders of a court in Tumakuru district of Karnataka directing the same. The FIR was registered under Sections 44 (injury), 108 (abettor), 153 (giving provocation with intent to cause riots), 153(A) (vilification or attacks upon the religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc of any particular group), and 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC). The FIR was registered based on a complaint by a lawyer L Ramesh Naik by the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) court in Tumakuru. It was registered at the Kyathasandra police station in Tumakuru. Ramesh had taken objection to the tweet posted on September 21 against farmers opposing the Farmers Bills (now Acts) from Kangana’s official Twitter account '@KanganaTeam'. Kangana had tweeted: "People who spread misinformation and rumours about CAA that caused riots are the same people who are now spreading misinformation about Farmers bill and causing terror in the nation, they are terrorists.You very well know what I said but simply like to spread misinformation (sic)." People who spread misinformation and rumours about CAA that caused riots are the same people who are now spreading misinformations about Farmers bill and causing terror in the nation, they are terrorists. You very well know what I said but simply like to spread misinformation https://t.co/oAnBTX0Drb — Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) September 21, 2020 The court said the complainant had filed an application under section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) for investigation. "The office is hereby directed to issue intimation to the circle police inspector of Kyathasandra police station along with (a) photostat copy of the complaint of the report," the court had said. Speaking to TNM, Ramesh Naik, who hails from Kyathasandra, said this tweet had hurt him and said that the tweet was provoking in nature with the intention of causing riots. He said that it prompted him to file a case against Ranaut. Farmers and farmer groups across India including in Karnataka had held protests in September opposing three farm laws — Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020; the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020l and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill 2020. Watch TNM’s explainer on the farm laws and why they are being opposed:

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Ex-Bengaluru Mayor named as accused in DG Halli violence case

Politics

The police said that Sampath Raj was among those who had information about the violence and did not share it with authorities.

TNM Staff

Sampath Raj

The Central Crime Branch probing the violence that took place in Bengaluru’s DJ Halli and KG Halli areas in August has named former Mayor and sitting Congress corporator R Sampath Raj, as one of the accused in the case, police said on Tuesday. "He (Sampath Raj) has been named as one of the accused in the DJ halli and KG halli violence," a top police officer investigating the cases said. According to the official, Sampath was among those who had information about the violence and did not share it with the police. Police had questioned him twice for several hours along with Pulakeshinagar Congress corporator Abdul Rakeeb Zakir, but have not arrested them yet. Sampath Raj's personal assistant Arun Kumar was arrested earlier for allegedly remaining in touch with people involved in the violence.  On August 11, a large mob launched attacks on a police station and the residence of Congress MLA R Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy after an inflammatory social media post by the relative of the legislator. The mob approached the DJ Halli police station seeking a case to be registered against the relative Naveen but were enraged after the police did not immediately take up the complaint.   The violence, which began late on August 11, died down in the early hours of August 12 after the intervention of senior Congress leaders. The irate mob set the basement of the DJ Halli police station on fire and vandalised the station. The vandals set vehicles on fire outside the station. At the time, police had opened fire, killing three people on the spot while another person involved in the violence died a few days later. So far, over 300 people have been arrested, including Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) leader Muzammil Pasha who initially approached the police with a complaint against Naveen. The National Investigation Agency is also investigating the matter and has nabbed the prime accused of the case. Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai had claimed that an internal strife in the Congress coupled with the upcoming city corporation elections for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had resulted in the violence in Pulakeshinagar. Refuting Bommai's statement, state Congress chief DK Shivakumar had charged the government with trying to 'cover up' its failure to prevent the riots by giving misleading statements.

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Bengaluru reports 3498 new COVID-19 patients, active cases at 64,570

Coronavirus

Bengaluru also registered 5,764 recoveries in a 24-hour period, taking the number of discharged in the city to 2,17,122 so far.

TNM Staff

Image for representation: PTI

Bengaluru reported 3,498 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, seeing a decline from 4,623 new cases reported on Sunday, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) said in its daily bulletin. Bengaluru, which is the epicentre of the virus in Karnataka, also registered 5,764 recoveries in a 24-hour period, taking the number of discharged in the city to 2,17,122 so far. The city's total COVID-19 tally is 2,85,055, of which 64,570 are active cases, while 3,362 have succumbed due to the coronavirus, including 18 in the latest 24-hour period. The city alone has seen 21,36,163 tests being conducted and authorities said that 17,39,289 people were traced as primary and secondary contacts of people who tested positive for the virus. Bengaluru continues to have a higher total tally than Mumbai, which has reported 2,29,446 COVID-19 cases so far, but is lower than New Delhi, which has reported 3,09,339 cases, as per the BBMP bulletin. Of the 928 patients in intensive care units (ICUs) across the state, 346 are in Bengaluru hospitals, 93 are in Dharwad district, 78 in Ballari, 49 in Hassan, 40 in Chamarajanagara and 37 are in Kalaburagi. Meanwhile, Karnataka's death toll due to COVID-19 crossed the 10,000 mark, even as recoveries at 12,030 were the highest in a single day, while new cases declined to 7,606. "With 70 patients succumbing to the infection across the state during the last 24 hours, the state's death toll rose to 10,076 since the pandemic broke on March 8," said the state health bulletin on Monday night. The state's COVID-19 tally shot up to 7,17,915 till date with 7,606 fresh cases. The total number of active cases is at 1,15,776. Of the tests conducted across the state on Sunday, 23,564 were through the rapid antigen detection and 55,193 through RT-PCR. "Positivity rate stood at 9.65% and case fatality rate stood at 0.92% on Sunday," said the bulletin. With IANS inputs  

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Portion of historical Savadatti Fort collapses following heavy rains in Belagavi

Rain

Heavy rains lashed several parts of Belagavi on Monday causing flash floods in many areas.

TNM Staff

After heavy rains lashed Karnataka's Belagavi district on Monday, a portion of the Savadatti Fort collapsed due to the impact. Built in the 18th century, the fort had not been conserved due to which the walls of the fort had lost its strength, an official with the Belagavi District administration said. The district administration said that a section of the wall at the front entrance and another wall inside the fort near the well collapsed on Monday. Heavy rains have been lashing Belagavi district since Sunday. On Monday, Bailahongal, Hirebagewadi, Savadatti, Ramadurga, Athani and Gokak witnessed heavy rains in the district.  Residents of Savadatti, who had gathered near the fort, saw the fort's wall collapse. Savadatti was ruled by the Ratta dynasty from the 9th to 13th century before the capital was shifted to the erstwhile Belgaum. In 1730, after the Savanur Nawab gifted Savadatti and Dharwar villages to the Desai of Naralgund, he built the fort between 1743 and 1751.  On Monday, five houses in the district's Manikatti, five in Hulikatti, three in Gurlhosur, and two each in Shirsangi and Kagdal, collapsed due to heavy rains. The residents were shifted to rehabilitation camps located in Belagavi.  A check dam located in Haggedolla was washed away due to heavy inflow of rainwater on Monday. Flights that were supposed to land at the Belagavi airport from Tirupati, Hyderabad and Bengaluru were diverted to airports in Hyderabad and Hubballi.  In the district's Hukkeri, heavy rainfall of 14 cm was recorded. Rains also lashed other parts of north Karnataka including Bagalkote, Kalaburagi district and Koppal. On Sunday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red warning for coastal districts predicting heavy rainfall. Orange warning was issued for parts of north interior and south interior Karnataka including Bagalkot, Belagavi, Raichur, Yadgir, Kalaburagi, Chikmagalur, Hassan, Kodagu and Shivamogga districts.

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Bengaluru cops shoot at man accused of sexually assaulting girl as he attempts to flee

Crime

Police said that the suspect allegedly stabbed a police officer with a knife while they were making the arrest.

TNM Staff

The Bengaluru Police shot at a 32-year-old man, who allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted a four-year-old girl in the city, while arresting him. The suspect, Dinesh, who is from Chennai, allegedly attacked an assistant sub-inspector with a knife when the shot was fired.  On the night of October 10, the four-year-old girl's parents, who sell toys outside the Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station, took their daughter near the ticket counter for shelter as it began raining. They fell asleep soon after and around midnight when the child's mother woke up, she found the little girl missing.  Around 10 am on October 11, her father received a call from KC General Hospital, stating that their daughter had been admitted for treatment by people who found her near the hospital. When the couple went to KC General Hospital, the doctors informed them that the girl was sexually assaulted and a medico-legal case was registered.  On October 11, the girl's parents filed a complaint with the Srirampura Police stating that the child was abducted and sexually assaulted. An FIR was registered under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and section 363 (kidnapping) and 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code. Srirampura Police Inspector Sunil Nayak told TNM that his team procured the CCTV footage from the railway station sometime before midnight, they found the suspect Dinesh, abducting the child.  "We received information on Monday that the suspect was in Okalipuram's RRK Junction at around 4.15 am. So we went there to arrest him," Sunil Nayak said.  Inspector Sunil and assistant sub-inspector Venkatappa found Dinesh and when they went to arrest him, he allegedly stabbed Venkatappa with a knife. Sunil Nayak then fired one round from his weapon in the air and later shot at Dinesh's right leg and arrested him. Both the suspect and ASI Venkatappa were taken to KC General Hospital for treatment.  Sunil Nayak said that they suspect Dinesh to have been involved in more such cases. "We are interrogating him to find out whether he was involved in more child abductions as we received a tip in this regard. He has been remanded to police custody for three days," Inspector Sunil added.  

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