Karnataka Cong MLA Veerendra ‘Puppy’ arrested by ED in betting case; Rs 12 crore in cash, gold worth ₹6 crore seized

coastaldigest.com news network
August 23, 2025

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Bengaluru, Aug 23: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Karnataka Congress MLA K.C. Veerendra, popularly known as ‘Puppy’, in connection with a nationwide illegal betting and money-laundering network.

During the operation, ED officials seized ₹12 crore in cash, including ₹1 crore in foreign currency comprising bundles of U.S. dollars, British pounds, UAE dirhams and euros. Gold jewellery worth ₹6 crore, about 10 kg of silver articles, and four luxury vehicles were also confiscated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

Veerendra, who represents Chitradurga in the Karnataka Assembly, was arrested in Gangtok, Sikkim, and produced before a local court. The agency secured a transit remand to bring him to Bengaluru for further investigation.

The arrest followed large-scale raids on August 22 across 31 locations spanning Gangtok, Chitradurga, Bengaluru, Hubballi, Jodhpur, Mumbai and Goa. In Goa, investigators targeted casinos linked to Veerendra, including Casino Gold, Ocean Rivers Casino, Casino Pride, Ocean 7 Casino and Big Daddy Casino.

According to the ED, searches revealed that Veerendra and his associates operated multiple online betting platforms such as King567 and Raja567. His brother, K.C. Thippeswamy, allegedly managed three Dubai-based firms—Diamond Softech, TRS Technologies and Prime9 Technologies—that provided call-centre and gaming services connected to the racket.

The ED also froze 17 bank accounts and two bank lockers, while seizing property documents linked to Veerendra’s relatives, including his brother K.C. Nagaraj and nephew Pruthvi N. Raj. Officials said both Thippeswamy and Pruthvi were directly involved in running the betting operations from Dubai.

Investigators further revealed that Veerendra and his associates had recently travelled to Gangtok via Bagdogra to explore leasing land for a casino project. The ED stated that initial findings point to “a complex layering of cash and assets” designed to conceal the illegal proceeds.

The probe is ongoing.

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Agencies
November 22,2025

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New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump has again claimed to have solved the conflict between India and Pakistan, repeating his assertion during a meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office.

Mamdani flew to Washington DC for his first meeting with Trump in the White House on Friday. Trump said he “enjoyed” the meeting, which he described as “great.”

During remarks in the Oval Office, with Mamdani standing next to him, Trump repeated his claim that he solved the May conflict between India and Pakistan.

"I did eight peace deals of countries, including India and Pakistan,” he said.

On Wednesday, Trump had said he threatened to put 350 per cent tariffs on India and Pakistan if they did not end their conflict, repeating his claim that he solved the fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him to say “we're not going to go to war.”

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Mamdani emerged victorious in the closely-watched battle for New York City Mayor, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the largest city in the US.

He had been the front-runner in the NYC Mayoral election for months and defeated Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and political heavyweight former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate and was officially endorsed by Trump just hours before the elections.

Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Mamdani became a naturalised US citizen only recently, in 2018.

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News Network
November 21,2025

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Udupi: The Malpe Police have arrested two men from Uttar Pradesh for allegedly sharing classified information related to Indian Navy vessels with individuals in Pakistan, posing a serious threat to national security.

According to a complaint filed by the CEO of Udupi Cochin Shipyard, Malpe—an institution under the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways—the prime accused, Rohit (29), was working as an insulator through subcontractor M/S Shushma Marine Pvt Ltd. He had earlier served at Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi, Kerala, where naval ships are under construction.

Udupi SP Hariram Shankar said the accused had unlawfully shared, via WhatsApp, confidential identification numbers of Navy-related ships and other classified details while working in Kerala, allegedly for illegal gains.

After joining the Malpe shipyard unit, Rohit reportedly continued collecting sensitive information through a friend in Kochi and circulated it to unauthorised individuals, violating national security protocols and potentially endangering India’s sovereignty, unity, and integrity.

Based on the complaint, Malpe Police registered a case under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923.

A police team led by Karkala Subdivision Assistant Superintendent of Police Harsha Priyamvada—along with PSI Anil Kumar D, ASI Harish, and PC Ravi Jadhav—conducted the investigation and arrested the two accused, identified as Rohit (29) and Santri (37), both residents of Sultanpur district, Uttar Pradesh.

The duo was produced before the court, which remanded them in judicial custody till December 3. Further investigation is in progress.

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News Network
December 3,2025

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Mangaluru, Dec 3: A group of Congress workers gathered at the Mangaluru International Airport on Wednesday to welcome AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, but the reception quickly turned into a display of support for Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.

Venugopal arrived in the city to participate in the centenary commemoration of the historic dialogue between Mahatma Gandhi and Narayana Guru. The event, organised by the Sivagiri Mutt, Varkala, in association with the Mangalore University Sri Narayana Guru Study Chair, is being held on the university’s Konaje campus.

KPCC general secretary Mithun Rai and several party workers had assembled at the airport to receive Venugopal. However, the moment he stepped out, workers began raising slogans backing Shivakumar.

The university programme will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

This show of support comes just a day after Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar would lead the government “when the high command decides.” The chief minister made the comment after a breakfast meeting at Shivakumar’s residence—another public display of camaraderie between the two leaders amid ongoing attempts by the party high command to downplay their leadership rivalry.

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