New tenancy law to promote rental housing in all states

Mangaluru, Jan 10: Two members of a notorious honey-trap gang that used to lure rich men using women and then extort money from them by staging fake police raid have been arrested by the Dakshina Kannada district police.

Lohith, a resident of Kushalnagara, and Sharif from Vittal, were arrested in connection with a honey-trap case registered in Uppinangady police station. Jamal, Jeevan and Naushad, who were also involved in the case, are absconding.

Police said they received information that a few people under the guise of being Kerala police, were planning to raid a resort near Uppinangady where two couples were staying.

They were informed that they would threaten and try to extort money from them. The police were tipped off about the same by their counterparts in Kerala.

Police said the accused are experts in setting honeytraps, and were involved in similar crimes since a long time. Their modus operandi was to use two women from Mangaluru to lure their intended targets.

Once they trap their target, the woman and victim are sent to resorts. They then raid the resort posing as police officials, and click pictures in compromising positions of the victim with the woman.

They threaten to release the pictures on social media or TV channels, if they fail to pay up.

Police said the accused demanded Rs 10 lakh from each victim, but they denied to pay up. Irked by this, the accused took away the victims’ belongings such as phone, money and car.

The victims who believed that the accused were police personnel, asked them to take them to the police station. Instead of taking them to the police, the accused took them to a secluded place, where they claimed that they were putting the victims under house arrest. Police have seized an SUV from the accused.

Bengaluru, June 14: Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa-led BJP government of Karnataka has once again urged the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led union BJP government to release GST compensation worth Rs 10,208 crore that is due for the state.

The request was placed with Finance Minister Niramala Sitharaman during the 40th GST council meeting, in which Karnataka Home Minister and state’s representative to the council, Basavaraj Bommai, participated.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Bommai said that Rs 10,208 crore was due from the Centre as GST compensation for four four months - from March to May.

“We have requested the Centre to release Rs 1,460 crore - pertaining to GST compensation for the month of March - as soon as possible due to the dire financial conditions of the state,” he said.

Bommai said that the state was confident that the funds will be released soon, noting that Karnataka had recently received Rs 4,314 in GST compensation for three months, between December 2019 to February 2020.

Meanwhile, the state also proposed the Council to reduce penalty for delay in filing GST. Bommai said that while people are made to pay 18% of the tax as fine in delay in payment, Karnataka has asked the Centre to reduce the percentage by half to 9%.

Bengaluru, Jun 22: Concerned over the increase in COVID-19 cases in the city, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Monday directed officials to implement lockdown measures strictly in the clusters which have reported more infections.

Yediyurappa held a meeting with Ministers and senior officials regarding containing COVID-19 in Bengaluru and said it can be achieved only if preventive measures are implemented strictly and asked the officials to work in this direction.

"Lockdown shall be implemented strictly in the clusters which reported more cases, especially, K.R. Market and surrounding areas such as Siddapura, VV Puram, Kalasipalya etc. It was decided to seal the adjoining streets, where the cases are reported, a release from the Chief Minister's office said. Stringent action would be taken against those who violate quarantine norms and FIR would be filed if necessary, it said.

Till Sunday evening, the state capital has reported 1,272 cases of COVID-19, including 64 deaths and 411 discharges. On Sunday, as many as 196 fresh cases were recorded. Officers were directed to ensure hygiene and provide other basic amenities to the people who were quarantined in the social welfare department's hostels and other government institutions.

"COVID-19 should be contained without affecting the economic activities in Bengaluru, which resumed recently," the Chief Minister said.

Noting that booth-level officers and volunteers were working to trace contacts and monitor quarantined persons, he said the COVID war room shall have real-time information on the availability of beds in various designated hospitals and facilitate treatment to the infected without loss of time.

A bulletin from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the city civic body, said there were 298 active containment zones in the city. BBMP Commissioner B H Anil Kumar along with the Chamarajpet Congress MLA B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan visited a few slum areas in the city to take stock of the COVID-19 situation, officials said.