Kochi, Jul 12: The two main accused in Kerala gold smuggling case, Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair have been arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Both the accused will be produced before NIA court in Kochi, Kerala on Sunday.
Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair were detained by NIA from Bengaluru, Karnataka on Saturday.
Swapna is named as the second accused and Sandeep has been named as the fourth accused in the FIR taken by NIA and both have been slapped with Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, (UAPA) along with first accused Sarith PS and third accused Fazil Fareed
Already, Sarith PS was arrested by the Customs, while Fazil Fareed is still at large.
NIA officials yesterday conducted a detailed interrogation of Sarith after reaching the customs office in Kochi where he is in custody.
The Customs Department had on July 5 seized 30 kg gold worth Rs 15 crore concealed in diplomatic consignment at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport.
The NIA on Friday registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Sarith Kumar, Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair, the three persons allegedly involved in the case.
The agency has charged them with offences under various sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
Swapna Suresh was on the run following the gold seizure. She was employed in Space Park and Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited (KSITL), which comes under the IT department, a portfolio held by Kerala Chief Minister. She was ousted after being named an accused in the case.
Sarith Kumar, an accused in the case who had previously worked as a public relations officer (PRO) in UAE Consulate-General's office in Thiruvananthapuram, was arrested on July 6.
Bengaluru, Mar 11: The move by rebel ruling Congress MLAs in Madhya Pradesh to trigger the crisis for the party's government in the state appears to have been in the making for at least close to a month as Karnataka BJP leaders were sounded about hosting them in Bengaluru in advance, sources said.
They also indicated that the 19 rebel MLAs would stay in the city for at least two weeks till an alternative government takes charge in Madhya Pradesh.
A senior Karnataka BJP leader, in charge of the Madhya Pradesh legislators' stay in Bengaluru, received a communication from the party's central leaders about the move nearly 15-20 days ago, the sources involved in the development said on condition of anonymity on Tuesday.
The leader had even gone to New Delhi in the third week of February to meet BJP's central leaders in this regard, they said.
In a massive setback for the Congress, its prominent youth leader Jyotiradtya Scindia quit the party and in a coordinated rebellion on Tuesday 21 MLAs loyal to him resigned in Madhya Pradesh, pushing the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government to the brink of collapse.
As many as 19 Madhya Pradesh MLAs, including six ministers, said to be loyalists of Mr Scindia who appeared set to join BJP, are camping at a resort in Bengaluru. Two of them are women, the sources said.
The MLAs on Tuesday sent their resignation letters via e-mail to Raj Bhavan in Bhopal from Bengaluru.
According to the sources, eight legislators, including an independent, have been staying in the city for about a week now. Of them two - one from Congress and the other an independent MLA - had gone back.
The six were joined by 13 legislators, who landed in the city by a chartered flight on Monday, and all of them are put up in a villa.
The senior Karnataka BJP leader, also an MLA, is looking after their stay and related arrangements on the directions of the party high command, the sources said. Their stay here may be for a couple of weeks.
"There will be a no-confidence motion, and then there will be a trust vote of the new alternative government that will be formed. So they may have to stay here for some time. They may be moved out of their current location," they said.
The Madhya Pradesh legislature session is expected to begin on March 16.
The sources also said the six legislators staying in the city since last week were shifted a couple of times within the city.
Congress in Madhya Pradesh, under the leadership of Kamal Nath, had come to power in December 2018 by ousting the BJP by a narrow margin.
Mangaluru, Apr 12: Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has appealed to the Additional Chief Secretary to Karnataka government Jawaid Akhtar to exclude Dakshina Kannada district from hotspot/ red zone area pertaining to coronavirus, saying that the district has not reported any new case since last five days.
KCCI president Isaac Vas said DK district has not reported any new case of COVID-19 in the last five days. Of the 12 cases reported in the district, six are from Kasargod and one from Bhatkal.
None of the patients suffering from coronavirus are in ICU or put on ventilator, he said in a statement.
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We are already facing lot of problems here without food and money.
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