Bengaluru ACB seizes unaccounted cash and gold from former BDA official’s residences

Crime

According to the investigating officers, Dr B Sudha amassed the bullion allegedly by accepting bribes while she was working in the Bangalore Development Authority.

TNM Staff

The Bengaluru Anti-Corruption Bureau on Saturday conducted search operations at five residences belonging to Karnataka Administrative Service officer and administrator of the Information Technology and Biotechnology Department, Dr B Sudha. The ACB seized significant quantities of gold, Rs 10 lakh in cash, and an SUV in the raids. Dr B Sudha was formerly the Special Land Acquisition Officer with the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA). The ACB officials who raided her house in Bengaluru said that gold jewellery, and gold coins were found in her residence.  According to the investigating officers, Dr B Sudha amassed the bullion allegedly by accepting bribes while she was working in the BDA. The ACB alleged that Dr Sudha and her husband accepted bribes while settling various land acquisition deals via middlemen.  "We are inspecting her financials and prima facie we have reason to believe that she has more than Rs 1 crore of undisclosed income. The assets she has amassed include five bungalows, gold and unaccounted cash. This is obviously more than what her income can generate," an ACB official, who was part of the search operation said. The ACB, however, did not disclose the exact amount of gold found at her residence.  The ACB searched bungalows owned by her located in Bengaluru, Mysuru and Udupi. The bungalows searched were in Bengaluru's Kodihalli, Yelahanka's Shivanahalli Main Road and Byatarayanapura; in Mysuru’s Srirampura and another in Udupi's Hebri. Her office located in Shantinagar was also searched.  "We are going through her bank statements since 2015. The Lokayukta had raided her residences in 2015 too, when she was accused of corruption. We suspect that she accepted bribes for transfer of agricultural land for the purpose of constructing residential layouts in Bengaluru," the ACB official said.  The ACB has also seized several property documents from her possession. The investigators are looking into how she obtained the funds to buy properties worth crores of rupees in prime location in Bengaluru and Mangaluru.  The ACB has registered a case against Dr B Sudha under section 13(b) (if a public servant habitually accepts any valuable thing in any proceeding or business transaction) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988.  Watch: ACB seizes unaccounted gold and cash from former BDA land acquisition officer's residence in Bengaluru

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Yediyurappa govt trying to mislead people: Siddaramaiah on criminalising “love jihad”

Politics

Siddaramaiah’s statement comes as Yediyurappa announced that his government would make a decision on criminalising “religious conversion for the sake of marriage” within three days.

TNM Staff

Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly and former Karnataka Chief Minister (CM) Siddaramaiah on Saturday lashed out against the BS Yediyurappa-led BJP government for proposing to enact a legislation criminalising “love jihad”. Siddaramaiah said that the move was to “mislead” the people of Karnataka and that there is no legal definition for “love jihad” and that there is no proof of its existence. “The Karnataka Chief Minister has announced to enact a law to ban 'love jihad'. This is nothing but BJP’s frivolous attempt to divert public attention from their miserable administrative and policy failures,” Siddaramaiah said, while adding that the state government meant to “ignite communal flare for their political gains.” .@BJP4India wants to mislead people with their wrong interpretation of recent Allahabad High Court judgement. The court only says that Conversion for the sake of inter-religious marriage is wrong, but it 'does not' say that inter-religious marriage itself is wrong. 3/4 — Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) November 6, 2020 “'Love Jihad' is not defined in any legal document. This fact is accepted in the Parliament by BJP’s own Minister of State for Home affairs. Then based on what will Yediyurappa enact a law?” Siddaramaiah questioned. The former Chief Minister said that Yediyurappa is misleading the people by wrongly interpreting the Allahabad High Court’s observation in a case it recently disposed of. “The court only says that conversion for the sake of inter-religious marriage is wrong, but it 'does not' say that inter-religious marriage itself is wrong. It is unfortunate that the Chief Minister of Karnataka and Ministers are taking inspiration from the CM of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adithyanath,” Siddaramaiah said. He went on to state that the BJP government was trying to dislodge communal harmony in a state which has been liberal and progressive. “Karnataka is known for its liberal and progressive ideas. Uttar Pradesh is known (for its) 'Goonda Rajya' and can never be an inspiration or a model state,” Siddaramaiah said. Siddaramaiah’s reaction comes a day after CM Yediyurappa announced that a decision regarding bringing in a legislation to ban “love jihad” would be taken within three days. “I don’t care about what other states are doing. But in my state, I want to bring the legislation to criminalise religious conversion for the sake of marriage. We are doing this to stop love jihad. It (love jihad) must be criminalised,” Yediyurappa had told reporters on the sidelines of a press conference held on Friday afternoon. The Allahabad High Court had observed last week in a case it was hearing that it is “unfortunate that “religious conversion is happening for the sake of marriage” and that it should not be so. The court made the observation while disposing of a petition filed by a couple, who claimed that the woman’s family were threatening them as she had married a Muslim man and had converted to Islam. Soon after, on November 4, the Yogi Adityanath government in UP had said that it would bring in a legislation that criminalises “love jihad”. Love jihad is a theory perpetuated by right-wing Hindu groups. However, such a phenomenon has not been proven to exist during the course of multiple investigations by the law enforcement. It is important to note that no term called ‘love jihad’ is defined in current Indian laws, it remains to be a theory perpetuated by right-wing groups in India. During the Parliamentary session in the Lok Sabha in February 2020, Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy pointed this out and had even acknowledged that no case of ‘love jihad’ has been reported by any of the central agencies.

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Karnataka man held for allegedly sending nude pics of himself to over 200 people

Crime

The police said that he had been sending such pictures for over six months.

TNM Staff

The Karnataka Police on Friday arrested a 54-year-old man from Chitradurga for allegedly sending explicit pictures to over 200 people over a span of six months. O Ramakrishna, a 54-year-old resident of Challakere in Chitradurga, allegedly sent nude pictures of himself to over 200 people including 120 women over a span of six months. Over a week ago, residents of Challakere informed the police that they had received nude photos from an unknown number.  Based on the information, the police began looking for O Ramakrishna. “His phone was switched off for a while. But we tracked his mobile phone and on Friday, we arrested him from his residence in Challakere,” the Challakere Police said.  Upon interrogation, O Ramakrishna allegedly confessed to sending the pictures. Police said that he would dial up random phone numbers and if there was a dial tone, he would send nude photos to that number.  “There were at least 50 women from Challakere to whom he sent these pictures. The women were reluctant to come forward and file a complaint fearing stigma. He also asked several of the women to send their pictures to him,” the police said.  Police said that residents of Challakere approached the police after several of their relatives had received the messages. “Some of the women were very scared to tell anyone about it fearing stigma. The brother of one of the victims approached us after she told him about the harassment she was facing for many months. Some other residents approached us after they found the pictures on their relatives’ phones. A few men, who had received such photos also complained,” the police said.  O Ramakrishna was arrested and booked under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act. He was produced before the magistrate in Chitradurga and was remanded to 14-day judicial custody.

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Karnataka CM makes U-turn, allows sale and bursting of ‘green crackers’

Coronavirus

Yediyurappa rolled back his decision on complete ban on bursting crackers after public backlash.

TNM Staff

After announcing the ban on bursting of firecrackers, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa caved in to public pressure on Friday and allowed the sale and bursting of “green crackers”. The Chief Minister issued an order on Friday evening stating that in view of the safety of persons with COVID-19 and those susceptible to respiratory infections, sale and bursting of only green crackers would be allowed.  “We received many suggestions after we proposed a ban on firecrackers this Deepavali. People should celebrate in a simple manner considering the safety of their children and themselves. I request people to burst only green crackers and celebrate the festival in a simple way,” Yediyurappa said in a tweet.  The order issued allowed the sale of green firecrackers only. On Friday afternoon, Chief Minister Yediyurappa held a press conference and announced that bursting of firecrackers would be banned during this Deepavali. The Chief Minister said that the decision was taken after consulting with public health experts.  Soon after the decision was announced, there was a major backlash on social media, where people trolled the BJP government for its decision and called Yediyurappa anti-Hindu. Hours after announcing the ban, Yediyurappa reversed his decision and allowed the sale and bursting of green crackers.  Green crackers are developed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI). These do not contain lithium, arsenic, lead and barium in them. The scientists have called these crackers Safe Water Releaser (SWAS), Safe Thermite Cracker (STAR) and Safe Minimal Aluminium (SAFAL) crackers.  However, these help reduce particulate matter only by 40% and are not completely environment-friendly. The National Green Tribunal on Thursday said the use of green crackers would not help reduce pollution in New Delhi and that it would create a “gas chamber-like” situation. In this view, the tribunal had asked state and Union governments to ban green crackers too. 

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Decision on criminalising religious conversion for marriage in 3 days: Yediyurappa

Crime

The Chief Minister's statement comes after the BJP's executive committee meeting held in Mangaluru on Thursday, where the issue was discussed.

TNM Staff

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Friday said that the state government would take a decision on the issue of criminalising religious conversion “for the sake of marriage” in the next three days. “I don’t know what other states are doing but in my state, I want to take the decision as early as possible. I have been holding discussions with leaders and in the next two to three days, we will decide what to do about it,” Yediyurappa told the media on Friday.  When asked why the government is considering such a legislation, Yediyurappa said, “Love jihad is the reason why we are looking at this. We will consult legal experts and then announce our decision,” Yediyurappa added. Love jihad is an alleged conspiracy mainly raised by right-wing groups in India, though the term is not defined under the country’s current laws, as acknowledged by the ruling BJP government in Parliament. The Chief Minister's statement comes after the BJP's executive committee meeting held in Mangaluru on Thursday, where the issue was discussed. Yediyurappa's stance on the issue comes even as Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai had said on Tuesday that the government would wait to see what action other states would take in this regard before making a decision.  The dialogue surrounding criminalising religious conversions “for the sake of marriage” began after the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced that his government would ban religious conversions for the sake of marriage. His statement sparked a response in Haryana, where the government made a similar announcement.  Three days ago, BJP National General Secretary and Chikkamagaluru MLA CT Ravi said that Karnataka government too would ban religious conversions for the sake of marriage. “True love is different and religious conversion just for the purpose of marriage is different. No one should be forced to convert from one religion to another just for the sake of marriage,” CT Ravi told the media on Wednesday.  On Tuesday, CT Ravi said in a tweet, “On lines of Allahabad High Court's order, Karnataka will enact a law banning religious conversions for the sake of marriage. We will not remain silent when jihadis strip the dignity of our sisters. Anyone involved in the act of conversion shall face severe and swift punishment.”

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BDA seeks public suggestions to draft Bengaluru’s Revised Master Plan 2031

Civic Issues

The state government in July withdrew the provisional approval given to a previous draft.

Soumya Chatterjee

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has sought fresh suggestions from the public to prepare a Revised Master Plan (RMP) 2031 for the Bangalore Metropolitan Area. A master plan is a collection of sectoral developmental plans related to land use and utilities like power, water, sewage for the city. This development comes after the state government in July withdrew the provisional approval given to the previous draft of the master plan. This was done as one Bengaluru-based Citizens Action Forum had gone to court stating that the BDA did not give satisfactory reply to the public suggestions. While the draft which was available for comments from the public had then received many objections and suggestions. However, there was no clear explanation given by the BDA regarding what they did with those suggestions and objections, the CAF had contended. The earlier draft was also criticised for many loopholes and technical errors. One of its major criticisms was that the draft did not evaluate the previous master plan and analyse why parts of RMP 2015 were not implemented. Further, the previous draft failed to mention the basis of institutional and legal framework for its implementation. The biggest flaw of that draft RMP was how it forecasted the population growth when compared with the growth rates of previous years. Furthermore, the draft RMP had major errors in the proposed land-use maps by including many roads that no longer existed. However, several parks and playgrounds that were there in actuality did not feature in the map. The suggestions for the new RMP can be sent to the BDA physically at the office of the Town Planning in BDA’s main office over the next two months or by post to the same address— 5th Main Rd, Kumarapark West, Guttahalli, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560020. They can also be emailed at bdarmp2031@gmail.com.

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Water bills may get costlier for Bengaluru residents as BWSSB mulls hike

Civic

The proposal comes even as electricity charges in the state were recently hiked.

TNM Staff

Residents in Bengaluru may soon be forced to shell out more for their water bills as the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is mulling a hike of 12% in monthly water bills for domestic users. If approved by the government, this will be the first hike by the BWSSB in six years. The proposal comes even as electricity charges in the state were recently hiked.  In 2014, the BWSSB had increased the minimum water tariff from Rs 48 to Rs 57 per month and the minimum monthly bill from Rs 83 to Rs 100 for domestic usage. Since then, proposals to hike the water bill in 2017 and 2018 were rejected by the government. In January 2019, a similar proposal of hiking water bills by around 30% was floated by the BWSSB, but that too, was not approved by the government.  “The latest proposal has been pending with the government since February. With the electricity bill hike approval this week, we have again approached the government to approve our demand,” a BWSSB official told TNM on condition of anonymity. Incidentally, it is Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa who currently holds the portfolio of Bengaluru Development, under which BWSSB operates. Officials say that this hike is necessary as the BWSSB will have to pay more for electricity charges with the hike in power tariffs by BESCOM (Bangalore Electricity Supply Company). As widely reported on Wednesday, the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) had approved a hike of 40 paise per unit for all electricity supply companies in the state like BESCOM. Effectively for domestic consumers, this would mean power bills will be expensive by around 5% on average. This change was demanded by all the electricity supply companies in the state to strike a balance between the rise in demand and cost of supply amid rising costs of power and transmission.

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