IT raids: I have not violated the law, says Shivakumar

Agencies
August 5, 2017

Bengaluru, Aug 5: After being grilled by the Income Tax sleuths for three consecutive days in connection with an alleged tax evasion case, Karnataka Minister D K Shivakumar today said he has not violated the law and the truth will eventually come out.

In a swoop down that raised a political storm, the IT department on Wednesday began its searches on various properties linked to Shivakumar, who is hosting 44 Gujarat Congress MLAs at a resort on city outskirts to forestall alleged attempts by the BJP to poach on them ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls.

Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, is locked in a bitter fight in the election.

"I'm not the kind of person that violates the law and the Constitution...the truth will come out," he told reporters after emerging from his residence at a posh locality here.

Without divulging any details on the searches conducted at various properties linked to him, the power minister said, "Only after I get the entire panchnama and the documentation will I speak to you."

During the searches at about 66 places across the country in connection with a case of alleged tax evasion, IT officials said they have seized cash and jewellery worth over Rs 15 crore have so far.

Shivakumar, who hails from the Vokkaliga community, has considerable influence in Bengaluru Rural and neighbouring Ramanagara districts.

He is also the Congress' propaganda committee chief ahead of the 2018 Assembly polls.

The 55-year-old minister considered a resourceful trouble shooter for the Congress with proximity to the party high command, is a six-time MLA.

Thanking the party and its leadership for backing him, Shivakumar said, "All my leaders across the country have stood by me in the crisis...I don't want to embarrass my party and I will not."

"At no point of time I will let down my leaders and my party,"he added.

Despite repeated queries from the media persons about the raids, Shivakumar said he would discuss it in detail later.

"I will speak to you later.. I'm going to a temple, then I'm going to the resort where MLAs are lodged," , he said.

"Things have been discussed, deliberated at various levels...I don't want to tell anything now," he added.

When asked whether the IT searches were complete, Shivakumar said, "You saw the officials walking out."

"I don't know," he said when asked about the raids in other places.

"I have got to know that it (raids) has happened at 70 or 80 places only through you...Please find out yourself," he said.

On Wednesday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in a statement had alleged that the IT department action was an attempt to silence thevoice against the BJP.

He had yesterday termed the IT raids against Shivakumar a "politically motivated" move on part of the Centre.

The Karnataka government has expressed its "strong protest" to the Centre over the use of CRPF personnel during searches, saying it cast aspersion on the state police.

The raids at the reso had on August 2 sparked a huge political row with Parliament getting disrupted and the Congressterming it an "unprecedented witch-hunt" to win one Rajya Sabhaseat.

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News Network
April 9,2020

Kalaburagi, Apr 9: An FIR has been lodged against the management and staff of Bahamani Super Speciality Hospital here in Kalaburagi allegedly for not following procedures meant to deal with COVID-19 and hiding details of patients with coronavirus symptoms, said District Deputy Commissioner Sharath B on Wednesday.

The district family welfare department official and nodal officer of KPME Kalaburagi took cognisance of the reports that the private hospitals in the district are not informing the government about patients having COVID-19 symptoms and they are only reporting about such cases at the last moment.

"It has come to our light that some private hospitals in Kalaburagi city are hiding information about the patients who are having COVID-19 like symptoms and these cases are not being reported on time to us," said the District Deputy Commissioner.

"We verified the records of these hospitals and it is clear now that they are revealing the serious cases in the last moment when the treatment has not given any help to patients. Only then such cases are bringing to ESI hospital in Kalaburagi. We have taken steps to quarantine the entire staff member of Bahamani hospital. We have taken legal steps against them for non-compliance of the orders issued to them and for not reporting this matter to us at the earliest stage," he said.

A case has been registered under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 column 51, 58 and sections 269 and 188 of the Indian Penal Code.

He further said that two new cases were reported positive on April 8 and one person has succumbed to the infection because he was having a severe respiratory infection.
He appealed to everyone to strictly follow lockdown restrictions and not violate Section 144 at any cost.

Speaking about the attacks on Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) and Anganwadi workers, who were given a task to collect travel details of locals in view of coronavirus crisis, Sharath said: "Some of the health workers, ASHA and Anganwadi workers, who have been given a task to going from door to door to verify health status were troubled unnecessarily, saying that they have come to collect data for NRC and NPR."

"They are doing a survey on behalf of the district administration as they have to gather travelling information so that a person can be quarantined to contain COVID-19 spread. There has been an attack, a case has been registered in this regard," he said.

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News Network
February 19,2020

Hassan, Feb 19: A 19-year-old boy, in a bid to impress his girlfriend, stole a sports bike from an OLX seller but cops managed to reach him through her on Tuesday.

The accused, Pramod, who works at a bakery, had been involved in a bike-lifting case two years ago too.

On February 9, Pramod saw an advertisement on online marketing platform OLX from Puneeth, a farmer from Shravanabelagola town, who wanted to sell his sports bike for Rs 1.4 lakh. Pramod called him up and the two agreed to meet around 6pm that evening at Shravanabelagola town bus stand.

Once there, Pramod, a college dropout, assured Puneeth that he would buy the bike but wanted to take it for a test drive. The seller agreed. A few minutes passed and when there was no sign of the bike or Pramod, Puneeth tried calling him. The phone was switched off and could not be contacted since. Puneeth immediately filed a cheating case with the Shravanabelagola police.

SP R Srinivas Gowda and ASP BN Nandini put together a team and began tracing Pramod's call detail records. Maximum calls were made to a single number and it turned out to be his girlfriend's.

Cops called the girlfriend and on Tuesday, asked her to contact him and ascertain his location. They traced him near Hassan city's railway station and nabbed him along with the bike. On interrogation, Pramod confessed that he wanted to impress his girlfriend and take her on long drives on the sports bike.

Police said Pramod, who belongs to Bandithimmanahalli village of Alur taluk, dropped out of college two years ago and has been working at a bakery in Sahyadri Circle.

While working, he has been involved in several incidents of bike-lifting. Cops said he appeared to have strained relations with his family and had taken to crime to make a quick buck.

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News Network
January 24,2020

New Delhi, Jan 24: A nurse from Kerala employed at a hospital in Saudi Arabia has tested positive for the deadly novel coronavirus, Union minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan said on Thursday.

The minister confirmed that about 100 Indian nurses working in the Saudi Arabia hospital were tested following the threat of coronavirus and one of them was found infected by the deadly virus.

Taking to Twitter, MoS (MEA) Muraleedharan said, "About 100 Indian nurses mostly from Kerala working at Al-Hayat hospital have been tested and none except one nurse was found infected by Coronavirus. Affected nurse is being treated at Aseer National Hospital and is recovering well."

Earlier in the day, he had said that he was in touch with the Indian consulate in Jeddah to provide all possible support to the nurses quarantined at Al-Hayat hospital.

"Spoke to @CGIJeddah on Indian nurses quarantined at Al-Hayat Hospital, Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia due to Corona virus threat. They are in touch with hospital management and Saudi foreign Ministry. Have asked our Consulate to provide all possible support", he had tweeted.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday wrote to the external affairs ministry seeking intervention in Corona outbreak among Kerala nurses in Saudi Arabia

"Corona outbreak among nurses in Azir Aba Al Hayat hospital in Saudi Arabia should be considered serious and necessary steps must be taken", he had said through the letter.

The chief minister had also requested MEA to communicate with Saudi Arabia to ensure proper treatment and protection for the patients.

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