‘Govt must form SIT to probe politically motivated murders in Dakshina Kannada’

Bengaluru, Sep 18: Prime accused in the Karnataka BJP MLA ticket scandal Chaitra Kundapura, an arrested Hindutva activist, has claimed the involvement of the top party leadership in the crime, sources said on Monday.

In a letter to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Kundapura has demanded that transactions of industrialist Govinda Babu Poojari, a complainant in her case, be investigated under the Prevention of the Money Laundering Act. She also expressed her willingness to cooperate with the investigation, they added.

The sources further explained that Chaitra had made these revelations in a letter to the ED before her arrest.

She had shot the letter after Poojari, who paid over Rs 5 crore, started demanding his money back when he was denied the ticket.

An associate of Poojari had paid Rs 5 crore in cash.

Govind Babu himself also spoke to her about it. He got the money transferred for the ticket to contest the MLA election. He had given Rs 1 crore to one Manjunath, Rs 1.5 crore to Abhinava Halashri, Rs 3 crore to Vishwanath Ji.

She claimed that Poojari was advised by her to file a police complaint.

Chaitra claimed that she worked in a private company in Bengaluru and had confirmed information on illegal money transactions by industrialist Govind Babu Poojari.

This person had settled in Mumbai briefly and carried out the business. He runs a catering industry in Bengaluru.

“He was an aspirant for BJP MLA ticket and since I was a journalist, I wanted to carry out a sting operation on money transactions. Hence I called up Govinda Babu Poojari and his associate Prasad Poojari to collect information,” Chaitra stated in her complaint.

“I was in touch with those close to the businessman and gathered information with an intention to expose him,” she added.

She also alleged in her complaint that fortunately he did not get a BJP ticket to contest MLA election. Generally, the political parties don’t give positions to leaders once the elections are declared. But, surprisingly, BJP made Govind Babu Poojari as the Backward Classes Morcha Secretary.

After the posting, he had carried out a campaign for the BJP candidate Gururaj Ganthiholi in Baindur seat. During the campaigning, Govind Babu Poojari started to identify with state and national leaders. “I strongly suspected the involvement of influential leaders in the scam,” her complaint read.

Sources explain that Chaitra maintains in the complaint that she didn’t have evidence to prove these charges and she recorded the call from Govind Babu Poojari that he had lost Rs 6 crore for BJP ticket and advised him to lodge a police complaint.

Karnataka police have arrested Chaitra Kundapura and her associates on charges of cheating Rs 5 crore and threatening industrialist Govind Babu Poojari promising him MLA ticket from BJP.

The prominent religious leader Abhinava Halasri is absconding in the case.

Bengaluru, Sept 21: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday left for New Delhi to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national President J P Nadda to discuss the alliance between the two parties in Karnataka for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The former Chief Minister said his father and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda also may hold talks on this with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, if required.

Gowda, who is a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, is in Delhi.

"This evening there is a meeting, once we have the outcome of the meeting, tomorrow I will share everything openly with your Delhi correspondents", Kumarswamy said before leaving for the national capital.

Speaking to reporters here, he said, there has been no discussion on seat sharing between both parties till now.

"Neither have we thought about it (seats) so far, nor have they (BJP) proposed anything in this regard. When we discuss in the evening, we will discuss in detail about the current situation in all 28 (Lok Sabha) seats, what was the situation in the earlier election and what is the situation after the 2023 Assembly polls", added.

Asked whether the alliance will be finalised today, Kumaraswamy said, "Let's see". To a question as to whom he will be meeting in Delhi, he said, "Discussion is with their (BJP) decision makers like Amit Shah (Home Minister) and their President J P Nadda. If required Narendra Modi and Deve Gowda will talk".

Talks on alliance between the two parties have been in the limelight ever since veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, who is also a parliamentary board member of the party, had earlier this month said his party will have an understanding with JD(S) for the Lok Sabha elections, and the regional outfit will contest in four LS seats in Karnataka, which has a total of 28 constituencies.

However, Yediyurappa subsequently said discussions in this regard have not reached finality yet, and Modi and Shah, who are busy with other responsibilities, may discuss and decide on the issue in a few days.

The BJP had swept the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka, winning 25 seats, while an independent (Sumalatha Ambareesh from Mandya) backed by it won one seat. The Congress and JD(S) won one seat each.

In the elections to the 224-member Assembly held in May this year, the Congress bagged 135 seats, while the BJP secured 66 and the JD(S) 19.

Following the Assembly poll results, there were reports that JD(S) would enter into an alliance with the BJP to fight the Lok Sabha polls. It was also said that the JD(S) leaders had met BJP central leadership in Delhi in this regard.

However, Deve Gowda had subsequently indicated the party will contest the Lok Sabha polls alone.
JD(S) had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in alliance with the Congress, as both parties were then running an coalition government under the Chief Ministership of Kumaraswamy.

Following the Assembly poll debacle, BJP, wary of its performance in the Lok Sabha elections, seems to be open for an alliance with JD(S), aimed at regaining maximum number of seats, sources from both parties said, adding, it hopes JD(S) votes may get transferred to it, especially in the old Mysuru region where the regional party has significant presence.

For JD(S), it is a matter of survival, and the party hopes to better its prospects by forging an alliance with BJP in the backdrop of the Congress reported attempts to weaken it by wooing its leaders, they said.

JD(S) had earlier formed governments in coalition with both BJP and Congress respectively for 20 months from January 2006, and for 14 months from May 2018, with Kumaraswamy as the chief minister.

Bengaluru, Sept 18: In an elaborate dating scam, a woman claiming to be a divorcee trapped a divorced man from Bengaluru and cheated him of Rs 1.05 crore.

CK Baba, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast), said the man, a HR professional at a private company, met the woman on a matrimonial site this year.

The woman, who goes by the name Prakathi Sreedharan on social media, is reportedly based in Kerala. She reached out to the man, aged between 35 and 40, on the matrimonial site after their profiles matched.

In the course of their chats, the woman told him she was divorced. The duo reportedly bonded over discussions on failed marriages and ongoing divorces and became close in three to four months.

Having gained the man’s confidence, the woman said she was investing in an online foreign exchange trading platform. She lured him into sharing his personal and financial details with her, promising big returns after describing how she had earned Rs 12 crore as returns on her investment.

Investing small amounts over time, the victim spent a total of Rs 1.05 crore on the trading platform. However, when he tried to contact her to recover his returns, she threatened him with serious repercussions, holding his personal information as leverage.

Without his knowledge, she had changed his pin and security information, logging him out of his bank account.

The man then lodged a complaint with the southeastern CEN police, who swiftly blocked the bank account and began the process of recovering the lost amount.

Cautioning people against falling victim to online fraud, Baba said, "Awareness is your shield against digital deceit. This is a reminder that trust should be earned and not bought at the cost of losing your hard-earned money."

Police advisory to those using dating/matrimonial platforms: 
1) Don’t share personal & financial information, address, or documents
2) Meet in public spaces a few times and verify their authenticity
3) Avoid intimate chats/calls through virtual platforms
4) Be wary of casual, quick declarations of love or personal details
5) Do not get into hasty investment decisions, especially online
6) Contact 1930 or 112 if you suspect fraud