Bengaluru cops arrest 10 persons for procuring drugs worth lakhs from the dark web

Crime

The police said that in an operation involving efforts from police personnel from various stations, the accused were arrested last week.

TNM Staff

Bengaluru City Police

Bengaluru’s Central Crime Branch on Monday announced the arrest of 10 persons in connection with a racket where drugs were allegedly procured via the dark web. The CCB carried out raids at various locations in Bengaluru and seized huge amounts of MDMA pills, MDMA crystals, cocaine and LSD worth Rs 90 lakh. Central Crime Branch sleuths on Monday said that the drugs were shipped to India via post and were paid for in bitcoins.  After receiving credible information from Bengaluru Customs, the CCB on Sunday night coordinated with the police in Indiranagar, Ulsoor, HAL, HSR Layout, Vijaynagar, Mahalakshmipuram and KG Halli to carry out raids at the homes of the 10 accused.   In an operation conducted last week, the CCB arrested Sarthak Arya (31), a resident of HSR layout, Nitin (24), a resident of Vijaynagar, Karthik Gowda (24), a resident of JP Nagar, Ruman Humzamina (25), a resident of Ulsoor, Mohammed Tuzari (25), a resident of HBR Layout, Amal Byju (20) from Kerala’s Changanassery, Phoenix D’souza (24) from Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, June, a resident of Marathahalli, Palaguda Venkata Varun (33), a resident of Indiranagar and Sunny, a Nigerian national residing in Binnaganahalli.  The CCB seized 660 LSD papers, 560 MDMA pills, 12 gm MDMA crystals, 10 gm cocaine, 12 mobile phones, 3 laptops and 2 two-wheelers during the raid. However, the CCB maintained that the accused were each operating on their own capacity and were not part of any gang.  According to the police, the investigation began a few months ago, when the Bengaluru Customs Department received a tip that synthetic drugs were being imported to India via the dark web. Based on the tip, the Central Crime Branch sleuths alerted the various police stations to track the movements of the accused persons. Up on their arrest, the accused allegedly confessed to ordering synthetic drugs from a website called Empire Market, using The Onion Router (TOR) browser.  The accused allegedly paid for the drugs via bitcoin. These drugs were stuffed inside gift items and sent to India via India Post, which was then delivered to the homes of the accused. Police said that the accused then distributed these drugs to students from various colleges in Bengaluru. 

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In pictures: Midnight protest held in Goa over doubling of railway line to Karnataka

Environment

The protesters demanded that the project be halted as it benefits the coal merchants and would entail massive destruction to the environment.

TNM Staff

A massive protest by hundreds of men, women and children was held in south Goa’s Chandor village over the doubling of the railway line to Karnataka. Protesters sat on a railway track, where work was set to begin for doubling of tracks on Sunday night. The protestors lit candles and spent the night on the rail tracks until dawn to prevent the rail staff from beginning work. There were protesters who beat drums and danced in traditional Goan style. Top police officials including South Goa Superintendent of Police also failed to pacify the protesters. According to the protesters under the banner of 'Goyant Kollso Naka' (GKN-don't want coal in Goa), the doubling of track works between Vasco in Goa to Hospet in Karnataka’s Ballari is being undertaken solely for the purpose of transporting coal from the state to neighbouring Karnataka. The protests were also supported by the opposition parties in Goa namely the Congress, Goa Forward Party and the AAP. Sunday night’s protests are also against the environmental destruction, which residents and environmental groups allege will take place to make way for projects common to both states.  According to the environmental group, Greens, nearly 50,000 trees within the eco sensitive Western Ghats region are set to be felled for expansion of railway lines, highways (NH-4A) and drawing of a new high tension power spread across protected forests in and around Mollem village. The railway doubling line even involves cutting of trees in the Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary and a national park on the border of the state.  The projects have already been cleared by the National Wildlife Board for Wildlife in April much to the dismay of environmental activists who have now approached the courts. The opposition parties, civil society groups and tourism stakeholder bodies have also expressed apprehension about these projects being pushed at an "express pace" to facilitate movement of coal imported through the Mormugao Port Trust facility in Goa to steel mills in Karnataka's Ballari.

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RR Nagar bye-polls: BJP's Munirathna spent more than EC cap, alleges Congress

Politics

Munirathna had distributed 34,000 set top boxes in the constituency a few weeks ago, and the opposition Congress has said that this was a violation of election rules.

TNM Staff

Facebook

BJP’s candidate for the Raja Rajeshwari (RR) Nagar bye-elections, Munirathna Naidu, has landed in a controversy after distributing television set top boxes to voters in the constituency. Munirathna had distributed 34,000 set top boxes a few weeks ago and the opposition Congress has accused Munirathna of spending more money on the campaign than the cap set by the Election Commission. The Election Commission had set a cap of Rs 30.8 lakh for campaigning expenses. The Congress had on October 26, filed a complaint with the Election Commission that Munirathna had distributed 34,000 set top boxes for free and was also airing ads about his candidature on televisions of those voters using the “Munirathna” set top boxes. The Congress, in its complaint, had said that even if each set top box cost Rs 1,000, by adding the expenses of the advertisements, the amount spent would exceed Rs 5 crore. However, Munirathna Naidu refuted the Congress’ claim and said that the set top boxes were ‘sold’ to the people after obtaining permission from the Union government. He said that they were distributed before the election campaign began officially. “Reliance is doing it, Tata Sky is doing it, Jio is doing it, why should I not? We have done this legally and with the permission of the Union government,” Munirathna said in his response. Watch: Munirathna defends his move to distribute set top boxes to voters However, officials with the Election Commission said that they are in the process of calculating the money spent on advertising for the bye-polls by Munirathna. According to Bengaluru district election officer Manjunath Prasad, even if the set top boxes were sold, the ads being played through them would still be counted as election expenses.  “The advertisements that were run during the 20-day campaign period will be accounted as election expenses. Generally, the charge for each ad would be Rs 1 or Rs 5 per day. If the amount for each ad is counted as Rs 1 per day, the expense would come up to Rs 6.8 lakh. But if the money spent is Rs 5 per ad, then the total amount would exceed Rs 34 lakh, which is more than the price cap. We are looking into this. We also have to take into account other expenses incurred for the campaign,” Manjunath Prasad said. The Congress party however, said that it would wait for the elections to get over before filing a fresh complaint as the party is also looking into the alleged discrepancies. “We are waiting for him to file his election expenses before we file our complaint. We will submit proof to the Election Commission and call for Munirathna’s disqualification,” a Congress leader said. 

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Bengaluru sees 2,167 new COVID-19 cases, has 30,598 active cases

Coronavirus

The city saw 6,018 recoveries and 10 deaths as on Sunday.

TNM Staff

Bengaluru recorded 2,167 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, as well as 6,018 recoveries and 10 deaths. The city currently has 30,598 active cases, and has recorded 3,875 deaths. Cumulatively, Bengaluru has seen 3,38,636 cases so far. Of the new cases reported on Sunday, 16% of cases were each reported from Yelahanka and Bengaluru West, 15% from Bengaluru East, 14% from Bengaluru South, 13% from Bommanahalli, 11% each from RR Nagara and Mahadevapura and 4% from Dasarahalli.  Karnataka recorded 3,652 fresh coronavirus cases and 24 deaths on Sunday, taking the state’s COVID-19 tally and cumulative fatalities reached 8,27,064 and 11,192 respectively, the health department said. As the state continued to show steady decline in cases and mortalities, health minister Dr K Sudhakar appealed to the people to abide by the COVID protocols. "With 8,053 recoveries and 3,652 new cases, Karnataka witnessed more recoveries than new cases for the 18th consecutive day. Let us continue our fight against COVID-19 by wearing masks, ensuring hand hygiene and maintaining physical distance," Sudhakar tweeted. The state had reported an alarming trend of over 10,500 infections and over 200 fatalities a day for almost a week barely a month ago. A total of 8,053 people were discharged on Sunday, taking the aggregate recoveries to 7,65,261 and active cases stood at 50,592 , including 935 in Intensive Care Units of various hospitals, a bulletin said. Most of those who died of coronavirus on Sunday were aged above 50. Among the deceased were two men in their forties and a 29-year-old man. As many as 1,06,773 tests were done on Sunday, with 86,378 using the RT PCR, taking the total number of specimens examined so far to 80.12 lakh, the department added. The health department also stated that it has increased the testings extensively from 2,309 in March to 27.03 lakh in October. It said COVID-19 cases were on the decline since September. With inputs from PTI

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Campaigning ends for RR Nagar and Sira bye-elections in Karnataka

Bye-elections

The BJP, Congress and JD(S) are in a three-way fight in the two constituencies.

TNM Staff

The campaigning for the November 3 bye-polls to two Assembly seats in RR Nagar and Sira in Karnataka ended on Sunday. The run up to the bye-polls in RR Nagar in Bengaluru and Sira in Tumakuru district, which has a total of 31 candidates in the fray, saw the ruling BJP, opposition Congress and JD(S) hurl charges at each other. In RR Nagar, Chief Minister BSYediyurappa promised to make BJP candidate Munirathna a minister if he wins the polls. Yediyurappa's claim drew a sharp reaction from Congress, with its state chief DK Shivakumar alleging that it was a violation of the model code of conduct. The Congress, which has fielded H Kusuma, wife of former IAS officer late DK Ravi in the seat traditionally held by the party, also accused JD(S) of playing spoilsport.The JD(S) has fielded V Krishnamurthy. In Sira, the BJP has fielded radiologist Dr Rakesh Gowda while Congress fielded former minister T B Jayachandra and JD(S) gave a ticket to former MLA B Satyanarayana's wife Ammajamma. Satyanarayana's death after prolonged illness in August necessitated the Sira bye-poll.The BJP has never won the election from there, but this time, the party is trying to turn the tables on the Congress and the JD(S). Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa's son and BJP state vice president BY Vijayendra led the election campaign in Sira. During campaigning, the Chief Minister had said that the BJP had lost its deposit here but that the voters have made up their mind this time to give the saffron party a chance. Insiders in the party drew parallels with BJP's surprising win in 2018 in the KR Pet Assembly constituency in Mandya, which was a JD(S) stronghold. A year ago during the Lok Sabha election, a BJP backed independent MP Sumalatha Ambareesh, a multilingual film actress, had won the election from Mandya defeating JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda's grandson and HD Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy. In the 224-seat assembly, BJP has 116 MLAs minus the Speaker, Congress 67 and JD(S) 33, while BSP has 1 MLA and there are two independents. Four seats are vacant, of which elections to RR Nagar and Sira, will take place on November 3. Elections to Maski and Basavakalyan constituencies will be held later. While the election in Maski is caught in a legal tangle, the Basavakalyan seat fell vacant due to the recent death of Congress MLA B Narayan Rao. The counting of votes for the bye-polls will take place on November 10.  

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Karnataka will observe Kannada Action Year to promote the language: Yediyurappa

Language

Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa was speaking at a function organised in Bengaluru to celebrate Karnataka Rajyotsava.

TNM Staff

Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa

A framework will be announced to observe the next one year as 'Kannada Kaayaka Varsha' (Kannada Action Year) as part of efforts to promote Kannada in the state, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said on Sunday. Addressing a gathering on the occasion of 65th Kannada Rajyotsava in Bengaluru, the Chief Minister said, "Kannada Kaayaka Varsha will be celebrated from now on till October 31, 2021."  He also promised that the state government will announce a special package to create more jobs for Kannadigas. "The state government will soon announce a special package to create more jobs for Kannadigas and promote their language (Kannada) and culture," said Yediyurappa. In the age of technology, various creative programmes will be organised in the next one year to preserve and promote Kannada, he said. "The details of the event to be taken up under the 'Kannada Kaayaka Varsha' programme is in the final stage, which will be made public for implementation," he said.  Noting that Karnataka was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and floods, the Chief Minister expressed his gratitude to the individuals and the various organisations and institutions, which came forward to help the government in these challenging times. Karnataka celebrated its 65th formation day - Karnataka Rajyotsava - on Sunday with celebrations limited to district centres due to the COVID-19 induced regulations. In Belagavi, where celebrations used to be a day-long affair, it was reduced to a few hours on Sunday. In Bengaluru, a celebration was held at the Kanteerava stadium where the Chief Minister addressed a small gathering. Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party state unit President Nalin Kumar Kateel, state Cabinet ministers, leaders of the Opposition, Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular), including former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, participated in the celebration. The state government also selected 60 personalities in 35 diverse fields across the state honouring them with the 'Rajyotsava civilian' awards, 2020. Among the awardees are Supreme Court Counsel KN Bhat and noted Konkani poet Valerian D'Souza, who is also known by his pen name 'Vally Vagga'.

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Leopard cubs found in Karnataka sugarcane farm reunited with their mother

Wildlife

The incident was reported in Karnataka's Mandya district, near Mysuru.

Soumya Chatterjee

Three infant leopard cubs in Karnataka were reunited with their mother within a day's time, following the active intervention of the state Forest Department. The incident has been reported from Mandya district near Mysuru. Speaking to TNM, Deputy Conservator of Forests Ravi Shankar said that three infant cubs were spotted by a farmer in his sugarcane field in Keragodu village, around 10 km away from the district headquarters. “We got information from the locals yesterday (Saturday) that three leopard cubs were found in a farm in the morning. They could not spot the mother leopard nearby. We received the news in the evening, went to the spot and secured the cubs,” he told TNM. He said that the forest staff who went there also could not trace the mother leopard. There was apprehension among the local farmers as they feared that the leopard would come again to their fields, leading to a man-animal conflict. “We pacified the locals and said that we will take care of the situation. We found a suitable spot nearby which is away from where humans usually visit in the nighttime and closer to the forest, anticipating that the leopard will come and take her cubs back. If they smell human presence, often, they do not come. So after putting the cubs in that spot, we posted two staff to observe that the cubs are not disturbed and today morning in the wee hours, the mother came and took the cubs back,” he added. Bhagya Lakshmi, a conservation activist based in the region said that the reunification of cubs with their mother is not very uncommon. She said, “Often, leopard cubs are left by their mothers in the sugarcane fields in the region, which the leopards feel is a safe place for the cubs, and return in a short while.” A study by the Nature Conservation Foundation found that 357 leopards were captured in Karnataka by the Forest Department between 2009 and 2016 after they were spotted in conflict situations.

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