BJP MLA Virupakshappa named accused No. 1 after raids unearth cash worth over Rs 8-cr

News Network
March 3, 2023

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Bengaluru, Mar 3: A Karnataka BJP MLA has been named as the main accused after an eye-popping mountain of cash worth over ₹ 8 crore was found in searches at his home and office and his bureaucrat son was caught accepting a bribe, officials said on Friday, in a huge embarrassment for the party trying to woo voters for elections later this year.

The anti-corruption wing of the Lokayukta - the state's ombudsman - dug out ₹ 6 crore in cash at the home of BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa and ₹ 1.75 crore from his office after his son Prashanth Madal was caught taking a bribe on Thursday. According to sources, the MLA is untraceable and has applied for a pre-arrest bail. The search went on till late in the night.

Madal Virupakshappa, the MLA from Channagiri in the Davanagere district, was the chairman of the state-owned Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL), which makes the famous Mysore Sandal Soap. He stepped down this morning as the scandal broke. His son is the chief accountant at Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB).

"There is some conspiracy against my family. I'm submitting resignation under moral responsibility as there is an allegation against me," Mr Virupakshappa said in a letter to Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

On Thursday, Karnataka Lokayukta officers caught Mr Virupakshappa's son at the KSDL office while taking a bribe of ₹ 40 lakh and arrested him. At least three bags of cash were found at the office, which has also been seized, officials said.

"The anti-corruption branch of Lokayukta yesterday caught Prashanth Madal, son of BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa while taking a bribe of ₹ 40 lakh. Over ₹ 1.7 crore in cash was recovered from his office," the Karnataka Lokayukta said.

The ombudsman said they had been tipped off by a complaint about Prashanth Madal, a 2008-batch Karnataka Administrative Services officer, demanding a ₹ 81-lakh payoff from a contractor for a deal for raw materials need to manufacture soap and other detergents.

"A case was registered. On the basis of that, we laid the trap. Five persons have been arrested, including three people who had turned up with the bribe. [The role of the BJP MLA] is being investigated. There is no pressure from the government," Lokayukta BS Patil said.

Chief Minister Bommai said the ombudsman will conduct an independent investigation. He also attacked the opposition Congress.

"We have re-established Lokayukta to curb corruption. During the Congress regime, with Lokayukta dissolved, a lot of cases were closed. We will investigate the cases which were closed. Lokayukta is an independent institution and our stand is clear. The institution will investigate independently, and we will not interfere in it," he said.

The Karnataka BJP's efforts to win another term, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party chief JP Nadda's frequent visits to the state and lavish announcements, have been countered by accusations of corruption in the state government.

The opposition has accused Mr Bommai's administration of instituting a common rate of kickbacks and dubbed it the "40 per cent" government.

"The loot of #40PercentSarkara continues unabated... caught red-handed taking ₹ 40 lakh bribe, Now ₹ crore recovered from BJP MLA's son's house. Father chairman, son takes money! Cozy Corrupt nexus of BJP!" Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said.

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News Network
April 7,2025

Mangaluru, Apr 7: The long-standing demand for a separate Beary Development Corporation has hit a wall — the Karnataka government has officially stated that no such proposal is currently under consideration.

Beary-speaking people, mainly settled across Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and parts of Kodagu, have been urging the government to set up a dedicated body for the welfare of their community and the promotion of their unique 1,200-year-old language. But during the recent legislative session, Minority Affairs Minister B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan confirmed that his department has not received any proposal on this matter.

The clarification came in response to a question by MLC Ivan D’Souza, who highlighted the community’s cultural richness and a population of over 25 lakh. “The community has raised this demand several times to support education and social upliftment, but the government hasn’t taken any concrete steps,” he said.

In his reply, the minister pointed out that the Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation (KMDC) already runs various welfare schemes for Muslim, Christian, Jain, Buddhist, Sikh, and Parsi communities. Since Beary speakers are considered part of the Muslim community, they are eligible for benefits under these existing programs, he added.

Still, many in the Beary community feel that without a separate development body, their identity, language, and specific needs risk being overlooked.

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News Network
April 8,2025

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Bengaluru: The results of the PUC 2 examination one were announced today with an over all pass percentage of 69.16 as against the 81.15% in the 2024 exam 1.

Due to several examination reforms, including installation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled CCTV cameras in the examination hall to check malpractices and webcasting of the entire process, the results seem to have dipped by 11.99% compared to the previous year.

The results will be available online after 1:30pm. Candidates can visit http://karresults.nic.in to check their results.

Amoolya M Kamath from Expert PU college Dakshina Kannada, Deeksha R from Vagdevi PU College Shivamogga have topped the state in science stream by scoring 599 for 600.

In Commerce Deepashree S from Canara PU College Dakshina Kannada emerged as topper with 599 out of 600 and in Arts LR Sanjana Bai of Indu Independent PU college Kottur in Ballari bagged the first place by scoring 597.

Minister for School Education and Literacy Madhu Bangarappa released the results and said, "students those who have failed or those who wish to improve their marls can take exam 2 and 3. We will not be charging any fee for exam 2 and 3."

"I will not say students are failed. As the exam process will complete only after 3rd exam, we have hopes to improve the results by 3-4%," he mentioned.

"We have opportunity to improve the results. We have conducted the exams with complete vigil by preventing all the malpractices by monitoring through webcasting," said the minister.

For exams 1 total of 6,37,805 were appeared of which 468439 managed to clear the exams.

This time department has not given any grace marks, except the one which awards to push those who were in border line. "There were over 8297 students in the borderline and pushed with the grace as per scheme of evaluation," the minister added.

Udupi Leads Again

The coastal district of Udupi has emerged as the top performer once again, recording a remarkable 93.90% pass rate, as per a report on One India. Dakshina Kannada followed closely with 93.57%, while Bangalore South stood third at 85.36%. At the bottom of the list, Yadgir reported the lowest pass percentage with 48.45%.

Here are the top 10 performing districts:

Udupi – 93.90%
Dakshina Kannada – 93.57%
Bangalore South – 85.36%
Kodagu – 83.84%
Bangalore North – 83.31%
Uttara Kannada – 82.93%
Shimoga – 79.91%
Bangalore Rural – 79.70%
Chikmagalur – 79.56%
Haveri – 76.56%

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News Network
April 14,2025

Bengaluru: The leaked contents of Karnataka’s long-awaited caste census suggest a significant policy shift—extending the creamy layer rule to Category 1 castes under the backward classes reservation list. This category includes some of the most disadvantaged nomadic and microscopic communities.

The commission, headed by Jayaprakash Hegde, has reportedly recommended that the creamy layer policy—already applied to categories 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B—be extended to Category 1. The report notes that some groups within Category 1 have achieved considerable progress socially, economically, educationally, and politically, thus justifying the introduction of a filtering mechanism.

The panel emphasized the growing inequality within Category 1 itself, stating that children from impoverished farming and labourer families are unable to compete with the children of wealthier households in the same category.

“The competition is stiff here and there is a threat that this category may become one populated by the rich in due course if the creamy layer policy is not implemented,” the report reportedly states.

It further underlines that to fulfil the constitutional goal of equitable opportunities, the policy must be introduced across all categories of backward classes, including Category 1.

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