S R Patil to be inducted in Siddaramaiah ministry

Bangalore, May 24: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will induct Congress legislator S. R. Patil into his ministry Saturday, four days ahead of the state legislature's first session after the party wrested power from BJP early this month.

"Patil will be sworn-in tomorrow (Saturday) by Governor H. R. Bhardwaj," the chief minister told reporters here Friday, a day after he got Congress president Sonia Gandhi's approval to take the party leader in the legislative council to the ministry.

Patil's Saturday entry to the ministry followed protest by Congress members of the legislative council that none from the state's upper house of legislature has been made a minister by the party.

Siddaramaiah, who took office May 13, had inducted 28 Congress legislators, all members of the assembly, to the ministry last Saturday.

In the 75-member legislative council, the Congress has 17 members and is in minority. The Bharatiya Janata Party, which lost power in the May 5 assembly poll, is in majority with 40 members, including the chairman of the house.

Patil, 64, was the leader of the opposition in the council.

After Patil's induction Saturday, the ministry will have four vacancies as Karnataka can have a 34-member ministry including the chief minister as per the Constitutional arrangement.

The Congress returned to power on its own after nine years in the state winning 121 seats in the 225-member assembly in the poll held May 5 and results announced May 8.

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‘Profit’ trap: Mangaluru trader duped of ₹33.1 lakh in online App scam

News Network

December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A 34-year-old fruit and vegetable trader in Mangaluru has reportedly lost ₹33.1 lakh after falling victim to an online investment scam run through a fake mobile app.

Police said the scam began in September, when the victim received a link on Facebook. Clicking it connected him to a WhatsApp number, where an unidentified person introduced a high-return investment scheme and instructed him to download an app.

To build trust, the fraudster asked him to invest ₹30,000 on September 24. The trader soon received ₹34,000 as “profit,” convincing him the scheme was genuine. Over the next two months, he transferred money in multiple instalments via Google Pay and IMPS to different scanner codes and bank accounts shared by the scammers. Between September 24 and December 3, he ended up sending a total of ₹33.1 lakh.

When he later requested a refund of his investment and promised returns, the scammers demanded additional payments, claiming he needed to pay a “service tax” first. Even after he paid a small amount, no money was returned, and the scammers continued pressuring him for more.

A case has been registered at the CEN Crime Police Station.

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