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
 - 
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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
December 15,2025

Mangaluru police have arrested a 27-year-old NRI on his return from Saudi Arabia in connection with an Instagram post allegedly containing derogatory and provocative remarks about the Hindu religion, officials said on Monday.

The accused, Abdul Khader Nehad, a resident of Ulaibettu in Mangaluru, was working in Saudi Arabia when the post was uploaded, police said.

A suo motu case was registered at the Bajpe police station on October 11 after an allegedly offensive post circulated from the Instagram account ‘team_sdpi_2025’. Police said the content was flagged for being provocative and derogatory in nature.

During the investigation, technical analysis traced the Instagram post to Nehad, who was residing abroad at the time, a senior police officer said. Based on these findings, a Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued against him.

On December 14, Nehad arrived from Saudi Arabia at Calicut International Airport in Kerala, where he was taken into custody on arrival. Police said further investigation is underway.

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News Network
December 15,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 15: Educational institutions in Mangaluru that rely on the popular Mangala Stadium for their annual sports events are bracing for an inconvenience as the city's key sporting venue is set to close its gates for a significant upgrade. The stadium is expected to be unavailable for approximately two months starting from January 15, 2026.

The closure is necessitated by a proposed overhaul of the stadium's facilities, with a special focus on upgrading the synthetic track. Pradeep Dsouza, Assistant Director of the District of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES), Dakshina Kannada, confirmed the development.

"Experts have visited the stadium, conducted a thorough inspection, and have given the go-ahead for a complete makeover," Dsouza stated. "Funds have been allocated for the project, and we are currently awaiting the final green signal from state officials to commence the work. We anticipate that the work will likely begin in the second week of January. Consequently, we have stopped renting out the stadium to colleges and other organizations in preparation for the upgrade."

The timing presents a logistical challenge for colleges, as many schools have already concluded their sports meets.

"Colleges will now be organizing their events and will need to find alternative locations to host their sports meets," Dsouza added. He suggested a few potential venues, including the Dakshina Kannada police ground, University College grounds, Panambur grounds, Swaraj Maidan in Moodbidri, and the Mangalore University sports grounds in Konaje.

However, many institutions note that finding a comparable venue will be difficult. While the DK police ground and University College grounds are closer to the city center, they do not possess the extensive facilities and infrastructure offered by Mangala Stadium.

Dr. P Dayananda Pai - P Satisha Govt First Grade College, Carstreet, is one such institution dependent on the stadium. Principal Jayakar Bhandary expressed hope for a swift completion of the work. "We expect the work to be completed at the earliest. If not, we will be forced to look for other venues to host the sports day for our students," Bhandary said, highlighting the pressing need for the city's main sporting facility.

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News Network
December 16,2025

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Melkar (Bantwal): The 9th Annual Day celebration of SMR Public School, titled “EXCELLENTIA”, was held on December 15 with great enthusiasm and dignity, marking a significant milestone in the institution’s journey towards academic excellence and holistic development.

The programme was inaugurated by Dr. U. T. Iftikar Ali. The chief guests were Dr. Akhtar Hussain, Mr. P. Moosabba Beary, Mr. Zakaria Jokattre, and Dr. T. M. Abdul Rahuf—whose inspiring addresses motivated the students and appreciated the school’s contributions to education.

Mr. Abdul Nasir, Mr. Ibrahim Gadiyar, Mr. Razak Golthamajal, Mr. Sali Koya, Mr. Arshad Hussain, Mr. Ismail Balanoor, Mr. Feroz Bawa, Mr. Sahul Hameed, Mr. Abubakkar, Mr. Hameed K. Mani, Mr. Abdul Majeed (Principal, Melkar Women’s College), and Mr. Abdul Lathief (Former Principal, Melkar Women’s College) were the guests of honour.

The Annual Report was presented by the Headmistress, Ms. Fathimathul Zaheera, highlighting the school’s achievements and progress during the academic year. The Presidential Address was delivered by the Chairman of SMR Public School, Dr. Haji S. M. Rasheed, who emphasised the vital role of education in shaping students’ futures and stressed the importance of discipline, dedication, and consistent effort in achieving 100 per cent academic results.

Secretary of SMR Public School, Mr. Rifath Ahmed, and PTA President, Mr. Sandeep Kumar, were also present on the occasion.

The Annual Day celebration showcased the collective efforts of students and teachers and reaffirmed the school’s commitment to quality education and all-round development. The programme concluded with a vote of thanks, expressing gratitude to all dignitaries, parents, and well-wishers for their support. The 9th Annual Day—EXCELLENTIA—was a memorable and successful event, leaving a lasting impression on everyone present. 

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