K J George shielding extortionist cop, reveals probe report

[email protected] (CD Network)
October 22, 2014

Bangalore, Oct 22: A probe into the involvement of a police officer in an extortion case in Bangalore has revealed the horrible face of Karnataka home minister, who is accused of protecting errant cop.

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Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) N M? Nyamagouda, who probed the charges of extortion, has held home minister K J George responsible not initiating any action against Cubbon Park inspector Uday Bhaskar, who is charged with extorting money from two Chinese nationals, besides supporting illegal transport of red sanders.

Despite orders by a City court, directions from the Centre and a missive from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Bangalore Police have failed to act against Bhaskar as he œenjoyed the blessings of the state home minister .

A charge sheet was filed before the VIIIth?ACMM?Court on July 11, 2014, against Bhaskar for extorting money from a Chinese man and woman Weng Ping and Zheng Xinghua besides the illegal transport of red sanders.

The court directed the police to act against Bhaskar. Since its citizens were targeted, the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi took up the matter with the Union Home Ministry, which directed the state government to probe the matter and act against the officials concerned.

The ACP's report further stated: œThe department has not taken action against Uday Bhaskar as he has the blessings of the home minister. 

The report also mentions that Bhaskar made repeated calls to œan influential minister, his son and a close associate of the son  and through them pressured the then police commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar and additional commissioner (law and order) Kamal Pant not to take action.

According to sources, the minister's son even threatened Auradkar and Pant that he would get them transfered if they acted against Bhaskar.

On December 18, four constables attached to Cubbon Park station, Vithal Kumar, Sudhakar, Kumar and Nara­sim­haraju took Weng Ping and Zheng Xinghua into custody from a star hotel on Bhaskar's direction.

They seized a laptop, a watch, 300 Chinese Yen and 10 boxes of red sanders valued at Rs 10 lakh from the duo. The constables then demanded a bribe of Rs 10 lakh and threatened to book cases if they did not pay up.

The Chinese nationals then approached Cubbon Park sub-inspector (SI) Bharath on December 20. When the SI contacted Bhaskar, he told him not to entertain their plea and directed the SI against bringing the matter to the notice of higher authorities.

However, on being alerted, Nyamagouda spoke to the Chinese duo and registered a complaint.?The ACP also recovered the materials taken by the constables and submitted a report to the DCP (Central), sources said.

Sources said that Bhaskar exerted pressure through the home minister and ensured that a criminal case was not registered against him. At a high-level meeting, Auradkar even expressed his helplessness in acting against Bhaskar.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy contacted the Union Home Ministry and objected to the Bangalore Police taking the Chinese woman into custody without the mandatory presence of a woman officer and also for taking her on a ride around the City late at night.

The Home Ministry expressed its displeasure to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who summoned Auradkar on February 2 and sought details.

A fuming Siddaramaiah, at the state-level IPS officers' meeting on February 4, expressed displeasure over the issue and directed Home Minister K J George, who was present there, to act immediately. Eventually, a departmental inquiry was ordered against Bhaskar.

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News Network
March 25,2024

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Bengaluru, Mar 25: Former Karnataka Minister and mining baron G Janardhana Reddy on Monday rejoined the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The Gangavati MLA, who is an accused in an illegal mining case, had formed the 'Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha' (KRPP) ahead of the state assembly polls last year, snapping his two-decade-old association with the BJP.

Reddy today merged his KRPP with the BJP as he, along with wife Aruna Lakshmi and some family members, joined the party in the presence of its veteran leader and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, state President B Y Vijayendra, and others.

Reddy had recently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.

However, in the February 27 Rajya Sabha polls he had extended support to the Congress candidate.

Calling it a "home coming", Reddy explained that the move to merge KRPP with the BJP is to "make Narendra Modi the Prime Minister a third time".

"Amit Shah had invited me to Delhi and told me that -- there is no question of extending outside support (KRPP supporting BJP in LS polls) and instead I should join the BJP and work for it, as I took my political birth in the party. Accepting it, I'm joining the party," he said.

Praising Yediyurappa and the leader's contribution in his political growth, Reddy said he is happy that he will be working in the party now with the veteran leader's son Vijayendra.

"I will work as a common party worker along with other leaders under the leadership of Vijayendra. I have not come with any conditions or expectations. Whatever responsibility the party gives me, I will honestly work.

"BJP was always there in my blood, but due to some reasons I had gone out, but today I feel I have come back to my mother's lap. Looking at my brothers here, I don't feel like I'm coming back to the BJP office after 13 years," he added.

Welcoming Reddy back into the party, Vijayendra said his joining will strengthen BJP in the Kalyana Karnataka region.

"Liking Narendra Modi's leadership and accepting BJP's ideology, Reddy has rejoined the party. Reddy has said that Karnataka should have a larger contribution in making Modi PM once again -- to ensure that BJP and JD(S) alliance win all the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state, he is merging his KRPP with BJP and is joining the party," he said.

Before the assembly polls last year, Reddy had been largely politically inactive for nearly 12 years since his arrest by the CBI for an alleged role in a mining scam. During this period, he had a brief stint ahead of the 2018 assembly polls when he campaigned for his close friend and former Minister B Sriramulu in Molakalmuru Assembly segment.

In the run up to the 2018 assembly polls, the then BJP national president Amit Shah, in response to a reporter's question, had distanced the party from him and stressed that "the BJP has nothing to do with Janardhana Reddy." Accused in a multi-crore illegal mining case, he has been out on bail since 2015. Several conditions were imposed by the top court in its order which includes prohibiting him from visiting Ballari in Karnataka and Ananthpur and Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh.

Because of these restrictions, he had to contest the 2023 Assembly polls from Gangavati in Koppal district.

Expressing his displeasure about the way BJP had ignored him, Reddy had announced a new party last year and also took a dig at his brothers -- Karunakara Reddy and Somashekar Reddy -- and Sriramulu, as they remained with the BJP.

The three of them had unsuccessfully contested the Assembly polls, with Reddy's new party said to have impacted their performance in the election.

Sriramulu, a ST community leader and former Minister is now the BJP's candidate from the Bellary (Ballari) Lok Sabha constituency.

Reddy had played an instrumental role in strengthening the BJP in the Ballari district and is still believed to enjoy a considerable clout there as well as in adjoining districts like Chitradurga, Koppal and Raichur, which could be useful for the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.

Reddy and his brother-in-law B V Srinivas Reddy, managing director of Obalapuram Mining Company (OMC), were arrested by the CBI on September 5, 2011.

The company is accused of changing mining lease boundary markings and indulging in illegal mining in the Ballari Reserve Forest area, spread over Ballari in Karnataka and the Anantpur district of Andhra Pradesh.

Reddy first came to political limelight during the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, when he campaigned for BJP leader, the late Sushma Swaraj, who had contested against Congress' Sonia Gandhi from Ballari.

Former Congress Minister T John's son Thomas John also joined the BJP today.

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News Network
March 15,2024

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Bengaluru, Mar 15: Former Karnataka chief minister and senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act on Thursday for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor at his residence in Bengaluru last month.

Yediyurappa, 81, was booked after a woman lodged a complaint saying that she visited his residence on February 2 seeking justice in a rape case against her daughter and sought that a special investigation team (SIT) be formed to look into the case.

According to the first information report (FIR), Yediyurappa allegedly took the minor to a room, closed the door and sexually assaulted her. The woman further alleged in the FIR that when she confronted Yediyurappa, he said that he was checking if the girl was raped or not. Yediyurappa later allegedly apologised and asked the woman not to reveal the matter to anyone.

The Sadashivanagar police in Bengaluru have registered a case under Section 8 (commit sexual assault) of the Pocso Act and Section 354 (a) (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Reacting to the allegations, the former CM said that around one-and-a-half months ago, they (the victim and her mother) had come to his house seeking help and he had taken them inside. 

“After listening to her, I called the city police commissioner B Dayananda over phone seeking to address her problem. Later, they spoke against me and I then suspected that there is some health problem with her. I sent them to city police commissioner’s office. I even gave her some money as they were in distress. I came to know that an FIR has been registered and will look into it. But this is what I get for helping someone,” he added.

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News Network
March 26,2024

Bengaluru: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has detained two suspects in connection with the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case in Bengaluru, sources confirmed on Tuesday.

The preliminary probe has revealed that the two suspects were in direct contact with the suspected bomber.

The NIA sleuths have picked up the suspects from an area in the state capital. However, a statement is yet to be made by the NIA in this regard.

Even as the investigating agencies, both NIA and state special wing CCB teams have launched an extensive search operation in various states, the bomber has remained elusive. The authorities had obtained the bomber’s images and videos from CCTV footage on March 1, soon after the incident.

Sources said that the sleuths were suspecting that the bomber had come from Tamil Nadu and was staying in a neighbouring state for two months before carrying out the blast.

The hair samples of the accused were gathered from the hat of the accused which he abandoned in Bengaluru near a religious place. The authorities have sent the samples for the DNA testing and were hoping for a breakthrough.

The Rameshwaram Cafe bomb blast took place on March 1 on the International Technology Park Limited (ITPL) road in the Brookfield area. Low intensity Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was used to carry out the blast and nine persons were injured in the incident.

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