Mysuru: Illegal' madrasa claimed BJP worker's life, alleges MP Pratap Simha

Bengaluru, Jul 26: A year-long probe by Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd (CDEL) has found that its late founder V G Siddhartha routed Rs 2,693 crore out of the company to Mysore Amalgamated Coffee Estates Ltd (MACEL), another privately-owned entity of him.

The MACEL owes Rs 3,535 crore to subsidiaries of Coffee Day Enterprises as of July 31, 2019 of which only Rs 842 crore was accounted.

"Therefore, a sum of Rs 2,693 crore is the incremental outstanding that needs to be addressed," said the report of an investigation headed by Ashok Kumar Malhotra, a retired DIG of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and assisted by law firm Agastya Agastya Legal.

Siddhartha was found dead in early August 2019, and many suspected that he had committed suicide.

Steps are being taken by subsidiaries of CDEL for recovery of dues from MACEL, the company said.

"The board authorised the Chairman to appoint an ex-judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court, or any other person of eminence, to suggest and oversee actions for recovery of the dues from MACEL and to help on any other associated matters," it said in regulatory filings at stock exchanges late on Friday.

The probe further gives clean chits to the Income Tax Department and the private equity firms who Siddhartha in his parting letter had alleged of harassment.

"We have not been provided with any documentary evidence to draw an inference that there may have been any advertent or inadvertent harassment from the Income Tax Department," said the probe report.

The probe also highlighted severe liquidity crunch at CDEL in the build-up to Siddhartha's death.

A committee supported by senior professionals was formed to protect the interest of all stakeholders. CDEL said the debt levels which were about Rs 7,200 crore on March 31, 2019 have been brought down significantly by Rs 4,000 crore. The present debt of the group is around Rs 3,200 crore.

"The disinvestment process in the group continues and we are confident to have effective solution to all stakeholders," it said.

Bengaluru, Jul 4: Karnataka on Saturday reported its biggest single day spike of 1,839 new COVID-19 cases and 42 related fatalities, taking the total number of infections in the state to 21,549 and the death count to 335, the Health department said.

The day also saw 439 patients getting discharged after recovery; even as 226 patients in the state were undergoing treatment in ICU.

Out of 1,839 fresh cases reported on Saturday, a whopping 1,172 cases were from Bengaluru Urban alone; while 24 of the 42 deaths were from the capital city.

The previous biggest single day spike was recorded on July 3 with 1,694 cases.

As of July 4 evening, cumulatively 21,549 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 335 deaths and 9,244 discharges, the Health department said in its bulletin.

It said, out of 11,966 active cases, 11,740 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 226 are in ICU.

Among the 42 dead are six from Bidar, four from Dakshina Kannada, three each from Kalaburagi and Dharwad and one each from Hassan and Bengaluru rural.

Of the 42, twenty-six are men, the bulletin said, adding most of them were with a history of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI), Influenza-like illness (ILI).

Out of 1,839 cases tested positive today, contacts of the majority of the cases are still under tracing.

Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Bengaluru Urban accounted for 1,172 cases, followed by Dakshina Kannada (75), Ballari (73), Bidar (51), Dharwad (45), Raichur (41), Mysuru (38), thirty seven each from Kalaburagi and Vijayapura, thirty-five each from Mandya and Uttara Kannada.

Bengaluru Urban district tops the list of positive cases, with a total of 8,345 infections, followed by Kalaburagi 1,597 and Udupi 1,276.

Among discharges, Kalaburagi tops the list with 1,189 followed by Udupi (1,103) and Bengaluru Urban (965).

A total of 6,89,526 samples were tested so far, of which 17,592 were tested on Saturday alone.

So far 6,50,876 samples have been reported as negative, and of them 15,294 were reported negative today.

Bengaluru, Jul 17: A total of 3,693 new COVID-19 positive cases and 115 deaths were reported in Karnataka on Friday, said the state health department.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the state is presently at 55,115, including 33,205 active cases. While there are 20,757 recoveries, the death toll stands at 1,147.

With the highest single-day spike of 34,956 cases and 687 deaths, India's COVID-19 positive cases crossed the 10 lakh mark on Friday, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The total positive cases stand at 10,03,832 including 3,42,473 active cases, 6,35,757 cured/discharged/migrated and 25,602 deaths, according to the ministry.