NCB arrests two Kenyan nationals in Bengaluru on charges of peddling drugs

NCB Bengaluru zone nabbed two foreigners for peddling drugs MDMA and Cocaine from the Netherlands and Ethiopia to supply in the city

TNM Staff

Narcotics Control Bureau

The Bengaluru Zonal Unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau reportedly arrested two Kenyan nationals on Tuesday, December 22, on charges of peddling drugs. They were allegedly caught receiving a consignment of MDMA pills and cocaine sourced from the Netherlands and Ethiopia respectively. Among the two arrested, one is a woman. The NCB, acting on the intelligence inputs they received, seized 3,000 yellow and grey pills of MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, in a parcel at the Foreign Post Office in the city. The pills were reportedly sourced from the Netherlands and destined to Bengaluru for further distribution in the city. “The consignment was concealed beneath layers of table cloth,” the NCB further mentioned. Grey MDMA pills seized by the NCB The two accused were arrested allegedly after being chased by the team lead Amit Ghawate, the zonal director of NCB. “One of our officers was badly injured during the chase and was hospitalized,” said an official.   Ramla Shedafa Nancy and Emmanuel Michael—the two accused—were further interrogated by the officers. The officials traced another parcel containing 235grams of cocaine which was concealed in the inner walls of a corrugated box. The cocaine was sourced from Ethiopia. Cocaine concealed in corrugated box seized by the NCB “The woman arrived in India on a tourist visa while the man was here on a student visa,” added the official. He further said that the consignment of MDMA and cocaine that they seized was worth Rs 55 lakhs approximately. The NCB in their statement also said that the use of these contrabands, especially MDMA, has risen manifold in the past five years. The team lead by Amit Ghawate had also busted an international racket on November 25. Two of the four arrested people were Nigerian nationals. Allegedly a total of 6.87 kilograms of pseudoephedrine was seized read the report by Indian Express. In another raid on November 17, the same team had arrested three accused running an inter-state racket. The accused were smuggling hashish oil from Hyderabad.   

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Karnataka govt conducts COVID-19 tests on 138 people who flew in from UK recently

Health

The results of the COVID-19 tests are awaited.

TNM Staff

Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar on Wednesday said that 138 people who arrived in the state from the United Kingdom on December 20 and 21 were traced and tested for the coronavirus. "All 138 people were traced and their samples were taken for testing," Sudhakar told reporters in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The results of the COVID-19 tests are awaited.The Karnataka government said that 138 passengers from the UK arrived in the state without a negative COVID-19 test result.  A new strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was reported in the United Kingdom earlier this month prompting the state government to announce additional measures. State health department officials said they will keep tabs on those who returned from UK between November 25 and December 22 and ensure that these travellers will undergo quarantine and an RTPCR test will be conducted if they are found to be symptomatic, the minister said. "In the wake of the emergence of a new variant of coronavirus in the UK, I held a meeting with the Technical Advisory Committee of the Health and Family Welfare Department. Initial studies in the UK suggest that the virus may be more contagious than the present one but not more virulent," Sudhakar said in a tweet. The Indian government has halted all flights between India and the UK. The state government announced that a 7-day home quarantine rule will be in place for travellers from the UK, Denmark and Netherlands. The state government has also set up COVID-19 testing kiosks at the Bengaluru International Airport  The Karnataka government also announced a night curfew starting tonight (December 23) till January 2. It will be effective from 10 pm to 6 am and will likely mean Christmas and New Year celebrations in the state will be curtailed. The guidelines specifying the exact rules of the curfew will be released later on Wednesday, Health Minister Sudhakar said. Karnataka registered 1,141 new COVID-19 cases in a day, while 1,136 were discharged on recovery on Tuesday. The state's COVID-19 tally rose to 9.11 lakh, including 13,393 active cases, while recoveries increased to 8.85 lakh with 1,136 discharged in the last 24 hours.  

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Karnataka HC hears plea by 5-month-old infant to ban traffic inside Cubbon Park

Court

The plea, whose petitioner has been mentioned as a five-month-old infant, seeks a ban on vehicular movement in Cubbon Park, saying it is affecting the petitioner’s health.

TNM Staff

Wikimedia Commons

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the state government on a PIL (public interest litigation) seeking a ban on vehicular movement inside Bengaluru’s Cubbon Park. The plea, which states that the petitioner is a five-month-old Bengaluru citizen, said that the decision of the Karnataka government to allow vehicular traffic inside the park is an “environmentally irresponsible action” which is “directly affecting” the petitioner’s health, well-being and quality of life. As per a report in Live Law, the petitioner’s counsel stated that during the pandemic, the park was closed, and this helped reduce the levels of carbon monoxide inside the park. However, later, the park was reopened after COVID-19 restrictions were eased in the state. The plea also cited a study conducted by a team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, which studied the impact of traffic on the park and recommended that closing the park to vehicular traffic has had a positive impact on the environment. They also added that allowing vehicular movement through the park did not impact the traffic in areas around the park. Adding that the park falls under the ambit of the Department of Horticulture, the plea stated that the department should be taking the final decision in the matter, and that the Cubbon Park Traffic Police or the Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority do not have any authority to make a decision for the park, since “it is beyond their limits and illegal.” Hearing the plea, a bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Nataraj Rangaswamy directed the Karnataka state government, the traffic police, the Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority and the Directorate of Urban Land Transport to file their statements of objection. The court also turned down the petitioner’s counsel prayer for interim relief, stating that granting the plea would surmount to a final order.  There have been many similar pleas filed in the Karnataka High Court seeking a ban on vehicular movement inside and through Cubbon Park. Citizen groups, like Cubbon Park Walker’s Association, had earlier filed petitions seeking a ban on vehicular movements.   

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Land worth Rs 140 cr meant for slum residents allegedly misappropriated in Bengaluru

Scam

Six years on, residents of the former slum in Hosakerehalli have not been compensated as the officials allegedly sold the plots allocated to them to other entities for higher prices.

TNM Staff

Pixcy.com/Sandeepm

The Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA), the planning authority for the city, seems to be riddled with multi-crore scams. Not a month ago, one of its former officials B Sudha was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau in a land-allocation scam. On Tuesday, the BDA’s vigilance team sent show-cause notices to 10 of its officers, including Karnataka Administrative Services (KAS) officers, for allegedly illegally allocating land — originally meant for the residents of a former slum in Bengaluru’s Hosakerehalli — to other entities for a higher price. The BDA officials said that the scam is worth Rs 140 crore.  The BDA Commissioner HR Mahadev has issued show-cause notices to former BDA Deputy Secretary-3 Bhaskar; another former Deputy Secretary Anil Kumar who is currently the land acquisition officer of Karnataka Industrial Development Board; B Sudha, former Deputy Secretary-1 and current administrator of the IT-BT Department; supervisor V Mahadevamma; retired second assistant Muni Bachchegowda; supervisor MV Kamala; subject manager Sanjay Kumar; second division assistant Venkataramanappa who is currently under suspension; supervisor Ashwath Narayana; and former supervisor KM Ravishankar, who is currently in the Revenue Department.  BDA sources said that the agency began probing cases undertaken by B Sudha after the ACB raided several of her properties and found huge amounts of unaccounted gold and cash, in addition to property documents in her possession. The BDA Commissioner has asked for explanations regarding the alleged misallocation of land and the alleged fraud in selling plots that were meant for former slum residents, which were sold to other parties.  How the slum rehabilitation scam came to light Six years ago, the BDA had demolished hutments in Hosakerehalli, located in Banashankari 3rd stage in Bengaluru. At the time, the BDA had promised to allocate land elsewhere to the people who were living in these hutments. Six years on, the true beneficiaries, the residents of the former slum in Hosakerehalli, have not been compensated as the officials allegedly sold the plots allocated to these beneficiaries to other entities for higher prices. With the beneficiaries knocking on the state government’s door on multiple occasions, the BDA had responded, in 2017 and 2018, that it was verifying whether the persons who registered for the compensation plan were legitimate.  However, last week, the BDA’s vigilance team conducted a search at a production house located on Cunningham Road and found that documents pertaining to 60 plots of land, which were to be allocated to the beneficiaries who were evicted from Hosakerehalli, were in possession of the production company. BDA sources said that the land was being sold “illegally” at higher prices.  “Each year, over the last six years, these officers would submit new lists of beneficiaries for the rehabilitation plan. Every year, the number of beneficiaries increased. In 2019, it was 541, when the actual number of people who were supposed to get the land was 180. These people have not received the land. The officials to whom the notices were sent kept updating the beneficiary list and would get it signed by higher-ups, who did not verify whether these were the actual beneficiaries. This list kept getting updated every time a new BDA Commissioner was appointed,” the source said.  BDA Commissioner HR Mahadev said that the BBMP is in the process of filing a police complaint against the 10 officials, after which a first information report (FIR) would be registered.

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Night curfew imposed in Karnataka till January 2

Health

New Year's celebrations are barred, Karnataka government said.

TNM Staff

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Wednesday announced a night curfew in the state starting December 23 to January 2. The night curfew will remain between 10 pm and 6 am. This curfew will end at 6 am on January 2. This normally means that more than 4 people cannot gather at a public place, however the government is yet to announce the details. Yediyurappa said that the decision was taken in the view of the new COVID-19 strain after consulting with the Union government and the Technical Advisory Committee.  "All activities (outside) should be completed by 10 pm and people should return home. New Year's celebrations are barred and this decision has been taken in view of the safety of the residents of this state," Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar said. Guidelines for the night curfew will be released this evening. Initially, the government had said that bars and pubs would be allowed to celebrate New Years, but with 50% attendance, however with this announcement, that rule will change and most likely no parties will be allowed. “Those coming from other countries must have a COVID-19 negative certificate that they have procured within 72 hours,” BS Yediyurappa said.  The announcement comes just a day after BS Yediyurappa said that there was no need for a night curfew ahead of Christmas and New Year in the state.  "In view of the new strain of COVID-19 virus and as per advise of Govt of India, it is decided to impose night curfew till January 2," CM Yediyurappa. pic.twitter.com/OWslhgbRiW — Prajwal (@prajwalmanipal) December 23, 2020 Previously, In an order issued on December 17, the state had barred DJ parties in nightclubs but the order specified that pubs and bars can remain open. It also mentioned that COVID-19 safety measures will be strictly enforced during Christmas and new year’s eve in the city.  A similar night curfew was announced in Maharashtra including in its capital city of Mumbai. 

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No relief for BS Yediyurappa as Karnataka HC refuses to quash denotification case

Controversy

The case pertains to when BS Yediyurappa was serving as the Deputy Chief Minister in 2006-07.

TNM Staff

File image

In a major setback to Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday refused to entertain his plea to quash a private complaint alleging that he had carried out 'the denotification of land recklessly' when he served as the Deputy Chief Minister in 2006-07. Justice John Michel Cunha in his order observed that he cannot accept the arguments placed by Yediyurappa's counsel that the FIR be quashed. "To be precise, the entire complaint or the FIR is not quashed. An order passed in favour of accused number 1 (Congress leader RV Deshpande) does not benefit the petitioner (Yediyurappa)," the order stated. The order also directed the Lokayukta court to keep watch over the investigation ordered by the criminal court in respect of the misconduct of public servants, MPs and MLAs involved in the commission of criminal offences. The order further emphasised that the allegation prima facie disclosed cognisance in so far as the petitioner (Yediyurappa) needs to be investigated. The order also noted that accused number 1 (Deshpande) and petitioner (Yediyurappa) occupied a public office at different times and in different capacities, and therefore, the argument that the private complaint cannot be construed as just a "conspiracy" and "general allegation". The judge asserted that the complaint clearly sought to prosecute the act of denotification of the land done by the petitioner (Yediyurappa) during his tenure as Deputy Chief Minister. A complaint was filed against Yediyurappa stating that while he was the Deputy Chief Minister in 2006, he had ordered the illegal deletion of land notified for IT parks in and around Bellandur and Devarabisanahalli. The complainant, Vasudeva Reddy, had filed a private complaint in the Lokayukta special court in 2013, wherein he had stated that Yeddyurappa ordered the denotification of four acres 30 guntas in survey number 49 in Devarabisanahalli and survey numbers 10, 18, 46/1 in Bellandur. He further alleged that following denotification, the lands were diverted for residential purpose. The Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) had initially proposed to issue a notification in respect of around 500 acres, but in the final notification, only 434 acres, including the land adjacent to the Ring Road between Sarjapur Road and Marathahalli - which includes the villages of Bellandur, Devarabisanahalli, Kadabisanahalli and Kariammana Agrahara - were notified.

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Senior IPS officer to probe violence at Wistron iPhone plant in Kolar

Probe

Senior IPS officer to probe violence at Wistron iPhone plant in Kolar

TNM Staff

File image/PTI

An Additional Director General of Police-rank officer will oversee the investigation into the recent violence at the Taiwan headquartered Wistron Corporation's iPhone manufacturing facility at Kolar in Karnataka, authorities said on Tuesday. The officer chosen for this role is Pratap Reddy, who is posted as ADGP, Communication, Logistics and Modernisation along with the additional charge of Law and Order.  The Karnataka government took a decision to appoint the senior IPS officer on the direction of state Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who had chaired a meeting on Monday with senior administrative and police officials including Additional Chief Secretary Rajneesh Goel and the Director General of Police Praveen Sood, a state government release said. No definite time limit has been set for concluding the investigation. Workers at the Wistron's iPhone manufacturing plant at Narsapur in Kolar district, had gone on a rampage on December 12 over alleged delay in payment of salary and overtime wages. Wistron on Saturday said that it had sacked its Vice President overseeing its business in India, as it admitted that some workers were not paid correctly or on time, and offered an apology. It put preliminary damage estimates in the range of New Taiwan Dollar 100 to 200 million, which is about Rs 52 crore, while earlier reports, quoting the complaint by company officials to the local police station, had put the estimate at about Rs 437 crore. TNM has earlier reported that Wistron in a regulatory filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange has said this skirmish reported in Kolar will not cause significant impact to the company. The statement had come as the company was disclosing to the exchange that it was placed on probation by Apple. “Regarding the event at our Narasapura facility in India, the investigation which includes collaboration with related government authorities is ongoing, as well as related insurance claims. The company will work with our customer in terms of correcting issues and operation recovery,” Wistron said.

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