bangalore news times

Bengaluru : Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials continued their searches at the residence and offices of Public Works Department Minister Satish Jarkiholi in Bengaluru on Thursday, September 10, following an overnight questioning session that lasted nearly 18 hours. The ED had launched simultaneous searches at 18 locations in connection with allegations of violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and suspected illegal investments abroad. Jarkiholi was questioned by the officials until around 2am, with the interrogation continuing even after a break for dinner. Officials later allowed the minister to rest at around 3am. However, another ED team arrived at his residence around the same time and remained there as the searches continued. The searches, which began at around 7am on September 9, were still underway on Thursday. ED officials are expected to remain at Jarkiholi’s residence until the searches at all the locations are completed. The investi...

Bengaluru : An FIR has been registered against Rajarajeshwari Nagar BJP MLA Munirathna and several others on the basis of a complaint filed by a woman, who has alleged that she was framed as part of a conspiracy and subjected to threats, harassment and other offences. The FIR , registered at the Rajarajeshwari Nagar police station, names Kiran Naidu, Lohith Gowda, Manjunath, Lakshmi Jayaram and three police personnel — Ayyanna Reddy, B.N. Lohith and police sub-inspector Chandrashekar. The accused have been booked under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Information Technology Act, including sections relating to robbery, kidnapping, wrongful confinement, assault, criminal conspiracy, intentional insult, criminal intimidation, privacy violations and publication or transmission of obscene material. According to the complaint, the woman became acquainted with a person identified as Ravishankar through Facebook in July 2018. She alleged that in 2019 he too...

Bengaluru: The Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office has rejected media reports claiming that Bharat Ratna awardee and renowned scientist Prof CNR Rao was served a notice over a discrepancy in his name in the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The election authorities clarified that neither Prof Rao nor any member of his family was issued a notice in connection with the discrepancy. The clarification came following reports published under the headline “SIR: Bharat Ratna CNR Rao gets notice over name discrepancy,” which the authorities said contained information contrary to facts. According to the official clarification, Prof Rao is enrolled as a voter in Part no 59 of the 157-Malleswaram Assembly constituency. During the SIR exercise, officials noticed a difference between the name appearing in the current draft electoral roll and the 2002 electoral roll. No Notice Served to Bharat Ratna C.N.R. Rao Over Voter List Discrepanc...

Bengaluru : The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday, September 9, carried out a search at the Bengaluru residence of Karnataka PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi, escalating its investigation into suspected financial irregularities linked to the state excise department. The ED team reached Jarkiholi’s house in Dollars Colony early in the morning on September 9 and entered the premises to conduct a detailed search. Two vehicles were used by the officials who arrived at the residence. Security arrangements were also strengthened in the area during the operation. The development assumes significance as the agency had in June searched multiple premises linked to Y. Manjunath, an excise official who is also related to Jarkiholi. Those searches were carried out in Bengaluru, Belagavi, Mysuru and Athani as part of a probe into alleged corruption in the granting of bar licences. Investigators are now understood to be examining whether the financial trail in the excise-related case ex...

Bengaluru: Karnataka is considering legal action against a Cauvery Water Management Authority directive to release 6,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu for 15 days. The order has come as Karnataka grapples with reduced inflows into its Cauvery reservoirs. The state government had requested that the release be brought down to 2,000 cusecs from 9,000 cusecs, citing the decline in inflows and the need to safeguard drinking water supplies. However, the Karnataka government’s request was rejected. Tamil Nadu had, meanwhile, pressed for additional water. Agriculture and District In-charge Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy expressed strong opposition to the decision and said the state could not accept the order under the prevailing circumstances. “The situation in Karnataka is extremely difficult. The inflow into our reservoirs has been falling since last week. Releasing 6,000 cusecs is not possible,” Cheluvarayaswamy said. He said authorities in Delhi could no...

Bengaluru : Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar made a surprise visit to the Yeshwanthpur APMC market on Tuesday, September 8, and interacted with farmers, traders and workers to understand the issues faced by them. During his inspection, Shivakumar visited the potato market and sat on sacks of potatoes brought from Hassan and Agra. He personally cut open and examined the potatoes to assess their quality. Farmers from Hassan told the chief minister that inadequate rainfall had affected crop yields. They also complained about power supply problems despite having borewells, making it difficult for them to irrigate their fields. Shivakumar later visited the onion market and spoke directly to farmers and traders about transactions and market practices. He specifically asked farmers whether they faced any cheating in the weighing of their produce. The farmers told him that they were not facing any irregularities in weighing. However, they complained that the agriculture minis...

Bengaluru : Arogya Kavacha-108 ambulance employees have threatened a major agitation, including mass resignation from September 20, if the state government fails to address their demands relating to salary revision, working conditions and compensation for employees who die in accidents. Two employees’ organisations representing personnel working under the 108 ambulance service have submitted a representation to the Health Minister and the department’s Principal Secretary, giving the government 15 days to resolve their grievances. The Suvarna Karnataka Arogya Kavacha-108 Employees’ Association and Karnataka State Arogya Kavacha Ambulance Employees’ Association said a large workforce is engaged in operating the emergency ambulance network through GVK. The unions claimed that around 35,000 workers are involved in the service. A major grievance is the alleged delay in regular salary revision. The employees said they were assured that their salaries would be revised every year...