Venkatesh Prasanna accused of extortion, blackmail, underworld links

[email protected] (CD Network)
February 13, 2016

Mangaluru, Feb 13: City based entrepreneur Prabhakar N Poonja has accused senior police officer Venkatesh Prasanna of indulging in blackmailing, extortion besides fake encounters with the support of underworld.

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The Chairman & Managing Director of Mangaluru-based Poonja International Hotel, at a press meet in the city on Saturday demanded a high level probe into Mr Prasanna’s alleged links with underworld and his other illegal activities.

Accusing Mr Prasanna of spreading false and baseless rumours against him, Mr Poonja said that he was planning to file defamation case against the former in the high court.

Claiming that he is facing life threats, the hotelier said that if anything happened to him in future Mr Prasanna should be held responsible.

Mr Prasanna, who holds a doctorate in Kannada literature and won a president’s medal in 2015, worked in different parts of coastal Karnataka in different positions after joining the police department in 1994 as a sub-inspector. He worked in Mangaluru city for nearly 15 years.

Mr Poonja said that when Mr Prasanna was heading Dakshina Kannada district crime investigation bureau, the latter had raided Poonja International under the pretext of prostitution.

“When Mr Prasanna found nothing in the hotel, he demanded bribe from me. I refused his demand and made it clear that no such business was allowed in our star hotel,” he said.

He said that initially Mr Prasanna had promised him to protect him from the underworld threats, but later started demanding money and began to issue threats.

Brushing aside allegations made against him of having links with underworld, Mr Poonja said that nearly five years ago he had spoken to a person who identified himself as an underworld don over phone.

“Nearly five years ago city based businessman KC Nayak had received a threat call from underworld don Bannanje Raje demanding Rs 1 crore. Mr Nayak was worried. Since Mr Nayak was my close friend I had called back the same number and asked the caller why he was threatening a senior person. I don’t have any other links with underworld,” Mr Poonja said.

Accompanied by Mr KC Nayak in the press meet, Mr Poonja said that recently Mr Prasanna had sent him a notice asking him to appear for questioning. “It was a bogus notice and I have brought this issue to the notice of senior police officers,” he said.

He went on to claim that if a hotel owner or builder refuses to fulfill demands of Mr Prasanna, he gives their contact number to underworld elements to issue threats.

Comments

Kamlesh
 - 
Wednesday, 11 Oct 2017

These corrupt police officers need to be taught a lesson and only the brave can stand up to them.Mr Poonja is is one of the most reputed and honourable man of the city with a long legacy.not only does Mr Poonja do social service actively but is a man of his words!Congratualtions Mr Poonja for all you have achieved.Wishing you success always!

Mandeep Cheema
 - 
Thursday, 26 May 2016

Mr Poonja is Brother in law of Sharad Shetty, but he looks totally clean and should not be blamed just for this infamous connection leading to D-company but it should be thoroughly probed at the same time.

Jonathan
 - 
Monday, 21 Mar 2016

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ranjith poojary
 - 
Monday, 15 Feb 2016

Dear George ... we hope that the christian terrorists stop the world activity of terrorising the world peace.. we can see what happened in afghanistan.. iraq and other countries.. world war 2 was by the christians... killed millions of jews.. wake up and stop using words like islamic terrorist..

ankita
 - 
Sunday, 14 Feb 2016

@rakesh wow am shocked at how narrow minded people are these days.Punish the family for someone else's crime?is that what you are implying?.if you lived in mangalore you would know how famous and well respected Mr Prabhakar Poonja is and everyone knows he

kapi
 - 
Sunday, 14 Feb 2016

@rakesh your comment shows how ignorant you are!just because sharat shetty took the wrong turn in life doesn't mean family related to him should be seen in the same light! Give you an example just because \Ravana was evil we all very well know \"vibeeshan

Sarith kinya
 - 
Sunday, 14 Feb 2016

some people say prasnna is supplying snake venom (poison).

Rakesh
 - 
Sunday, 14 Feb 2016

Is mr Prabhakar poonja in law of infamous Sharad shetty..who was with dawood Ibrahim ..????? Is he the same guy?...please correct if I am wrong .we are well aware that d company threatened venkatesh openly (rashid malabari during court visit).case must be properly probed .

George
 - 
Sunday, 14 Feb 2016

Mr Venkat prasanna is tough cop..who took bold steps against Islamic terrorists ,this case must be probed properly as Islamic terrorist rashid malabari had once threatened to teach lesson to mr prasanna openly as he exposed isi and Muslim underworld nexus in Mangalore.this case must be properly probed .it is well known fact that isi gets boost during congress rule and our strict policers are often targeted .

Pria
 - 
Sunday, 14 Feb 2016

Venkatesh should be suspended for defaming one of the most important, honourable and respected man like Mr poonja!corrupt police officers like him should be suspended!good job mr poonja for speaking up!

IBRAHIM.HUSSAIN
 - 
Sunday, 14 Feb 2016

There are plenty of black sheep's in Police department and civil society that cannot be ignored.

Mani
 - 
Sunday, 14 Feb 2016

i was waiting for this day ,,,,this saffronist police office ...even he is a black spot for them

amir
 - 
Sunday, 14 Feb 2016

corrupt officer wearing a facade all this time. while trying to steal from the rich.kudos to Mr Poonja for doing this.This man should be suspended and medals should be revoked.

Sahil
 - 
Sunday, 14 Feb 2016

Anyone saying somethin like if it's planned why would he raid poonja in the first place?..everyone living in mangalore knws it's the oldest and safest hotel there is..prasanna is corrupt and needs to be taught a lesson

Ankit
 - 
Sunday, 14 Feb 2016

At the comments supporting prasanna just remember your supporting corruption as well. Why would a reputed person such as poonja accuse him of such a serious crime he wouldn't get anything other then a long trial at the court for standing up against a corrupt officer .i have heard of such cases against prasanna before it's just that no one ever brought it to light and we should support poonja for doing this. Medal or not corruption and extortion is wrong and since I've heard many stories about him attacking the rich for money poonja's word and repute definitely prevail's over his.also raiding a hotel was wrong anyone living in the city knws it's the oldest and safest one around to the below people who called this planned .please give your justification for the raid then? No one can fake that especially when nothin was found.the raid will definetely be in the records prasanna can't deny that. I hope he's forced to resign we don't need such corrupt officials bullying people

saurav
 - 
Saturday, 13 Feb 2016

Hoax,unwanted use of bureaucracy,defamtion may proove too costly for mr.venkatesh prassana for defaming one of the most important person of costal region.The district administration should look after this case very closely so that important people of the society like Mr prabakar poonja is not defamed by any burrucant for unwanted reasons

hrashikesh
 - 
Saturday, 13 Feb 2016

This is fall fake ..
Phrakar poonja is a well known person ..
It's just tht the cops r expecting something from him
Please stop spreading the fake newd

Alwyn
 - 
Saturday, 13 Feb 2016

Any way probe in this regards highly recommended as mr. Prassanna track records is not clean.

Mohan
 - 
Saturday, 13 Feb 2016

I am very shocked and disturbed to read this article people like MR Prassana should be imvestigated properly!i know Mr Poonja and Mr Nayak personally they are honest,well reputed business men of the city and such baseless false allegations against them is so shameful and that too without any proof!these police officers are so corrupt they need to be taught a lesson

Mohan
 - 
Saturday, 13 Feb 2016

I am very shocked to read this article,I know mr Poonja and mr Nayak personally and they are very honest and reputed people of the city,so for MR Prassana to harass them is wrong,he is a corrupt police officer and probing needs to be done in this matter before he targets other business men as well!

Kalndar
 - 
Saturday, 13 Feb 2016

Suspend Venktesh first

raj
 - 
Saturday, 13 Feb 2016

question is not if he has gold medal or not , prasannas name had cropped up in encounter of lawyer shaju which was considered as a fake encounter and investigation is going on .
corruption in police department is not a new thing

Pria
 - 
Saturday, 13 Feb 2016

Good to see that Mr Poonja has come out in the open and talked about it,people like Prasanna who harass innocent people need to be taught a lesson!they are up to no good and utilise their power to make money!so shameful

Manjula
 - 
Saturday, 13 Feb 2016

an investigation should definitely be conducted

Miserable
 - 
Saturday, 13 Feb 2016

This is planned allegation. Mr. Prasanna is a very good gentleman and never ask for any bribe. All politics going on....

Narvante
 - 
Saturday, 13 Feb 2016

Venkatesh prasanna is a hero for local kannada news papers..

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News Network
March 27,2024

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Gokarna (Uttara Kannada): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Wednesday said the Congress will decide about making him the Chief Minister in future, bringing to the fore again the issue of leadership change.

There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the Chief Minister's post after the Assembly election results in May last year, and the Congress had managed to convince the latter and made him the Deputy Chief Minister.

There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational Chief Minister formula," according to which Shivakumar will become CM after two-and-half years but they have not been officially confirmed by the party.

During a temple visit here, a priest prayed that God's blessings may be showered on Shivakumar, and he became the Chief Minister.

Speaking to reporters here in Uttara Kannada district, Shivakumar, who has in the past made no secret of his ambition to become Chief Minister, amid speculations of change in guard mid-way of the Assembly term, responded to talk in some political circles about the leadership issue.

"What's wrong if a priest expresses his desire before God while praying? The priest has expressed his desire. Now Siddaramaiah is the Chief Minister, I'm working as Deputy Chief Minister under him, also as party's state President. People speak about it and desiring it (Shivakumar should become CM) is a different matter, it will be decided by our party," Shivakumar said.

"Now we are all working under the leadership of Siddaramaiah, and our desire is that the state should progress further under his leadership," he said.

"There will be people including supporters and priests, who pray for us, they will express their opinion. Can we stop them from doing it? At the temple it is between God and his disciple, they have expressed their feelings to God," Shivakumar added. 

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News Network
March 22,2024

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Bengaluru, Mar 22: An FIR has been registered against BJP MP Tejasvi Surya over a provocative hate post on social media, Election Commission officials said on Friday.

The move comes after a complaint filed by officials of the poll body and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) that the Bengaluru South MP, who is also the President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, had in a post apparently targeted a minority and spread enmity between two communities.

He also made a similar post on March 19 on X and YouTube which went viral. He has 1.3 million followers on X, thereby influencing the voters and disturbing the communal harmony between the communities, it further alleged.

Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered at Halasuru Gate police station on March 20 under sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 295 A (Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code and the Representation of the People Act, the officials said.

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News Network
March 18,2024

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Mangaluru, Mar 18: The rising temperature has become a growing concern for residents of coastal district of Dakshina Kannada, as the issue of drinking water shortage continues to worsen in several parts. 

Though the water supply of Mangaluru city has not been affected much, nearby urban local bodies, including Ullal, Kotekar, Bajpe and other parts on the outskirts of Mangaluru have been facing an acute shortage of drinking water.

Though the water level in the Thumbe vented dam across Nethravati River has started going down in the last few days, officials have ruled out possibility of rationing the water supply in the city.

According to officials, the water level at Thumbe dam of the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) stood at 5.8 m as against the maximum storage capacity of 6m height on March 16. The water level at the dam during the same period last year was 5.3 metres. The water level reduced from 5.9 m on March 15 to 5.8 m on March 16 due to the scorching heat, causing evaporation.

The MCC has been drawing 160 MLD of water from the Thumbe vented dam. According to officials, without inflow, the maximum water stored in the dam will be sufficient for only 50 days. Meanwhile, the MCC has already started pumping backwater from downstream of the Thumbe vented dam back to the dam using pumpsets. Water from Thumbe dam can be drawn only if it has more than 1.5m of water in it.

DC Mullai Muhilan MP said that the district administration is closely monitoring water levels in all the dams that supply water.

The AMR dam located upstream of Thumbe dam has 18 m of water from sea level. If the water level in the Thumbe vented dam recedes, then water from the AMR dam will be released into the Thumbe dam. There is water in a dam at Biliyoor, which is located upstream of the AMR dam, the DC said.

“Drawing water for irrigation purposes from Thumbe and AMR dams has been banned,” the deputy commissioner said, adding that an order in this regard has already been issued. Some of the pockets in rural areas too have started facing water crisis.

“We have made arrangements to supply water through tankers in Ullal, Kotekar and Bajpe areas. We will not introduce water supply rationing in MCC limits for the time being,” he said and appealed to citizens to use water judiciously.

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