Fugitive 'con artist' was arrested thrice

May 31, 2013

Actor_Leena_Maria_PaulBangalore, May 31: Actor Leena Maria Paul’s live-in partner ‘cheated’ people in City by claiming high links, say police.

The fugitive live-in partner of actor Leena Maria Paul, who was arrested in New Delhi on Tuesday on the charge of cheating Canara Bank of Rs 19 crore, was apprehended at least thrice by Bangalore police since 2007 but managed to get bail each time.

Balaji alias Sukesh Chandrashekar, Bangalore police asserted, has a history of “cheating” hundreds of people. The Commissioner of Police, B G?Jyothiprakash Mirji, said the Central Crime Branch (CCB)?had been entrusted with tracking Balaji as he is suspected to be hiding in the City.

Information would be shared with law-enforcement agencies in Chennai and New Delhi, if required, Mirji told Deccan Herald. Some sources, although unconfirmed, claimed a special team from Chennai police was also looking for Balaji in Bangalore.

Balaji, who is in his early 20s, dropped out of PUC after studying at Baldwin Boys’ High School. He often “posed” as a relative or a close friend of prominent politicians. In this way, he would lure the gullible into believing that he could get their works done, for a monetary favour.

As per records with the City police, Balaji was a clever “imposter”. Once he was the “grandson” of Tamil Nadu politician M Karunanidhi; later a “close friend” of former Chief Minister H?D?Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil Gowda. He also posed as a close associate of Tamil Nadu’s former Finance Minister K Anbazhagan, and as an IAS officer.

First arrest

The first case booked against him in the City was in 2007 when, as a teenager, he “cheated” Subramanya, 75, a landlord, of Rs 1.14 crore, promising to get a BDA site reallotted to him. He had claimed that he was a close friend of Gowda; he even had one of his friends pose as Kumaraswamy’s son.

Police recall that Balaji had “forged” documents pertaining to the BDA to convince Subramanya that “his work was done”. The case was investigated by Hulimavu police who then arrested the teenager and his parents — Chandrashekar and Mala. The entire family was charged with operating as a gang to cheat the old man.

Balaji has a “fetish” for luxury cars and goods — seven cars, including a BMW and Nissan, were confiscated from him. He obtained bail only to revert to “cheating” people. He was then arrested in 2009 for cheating a businessman by posing as the son of former union minister T R Baalu. Police again recovered five high-end cars. He managed to get bail again, but didn’t reform himself, police claimed.

Thirteen cases

He was last arrested on April 11, 2011, near AVM Studio in Chennai when he was travelling by a car which didn’t have a number plate. That time, he was charged with cheating more than 100 men of Rs 10 crore by posing as Karunanidhi’s son. It emerged later that Balaji was involved in 13 cases in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana, police recalled.

In the last incident, Balaji convinced two firms and several industrialists that he was an officer with the Government of Karnataka. He duped his gullible victims into believing that there was a project to instal some instrument in government-owned vehicles. The “tenders” for the project would be opened at Bannerghatta and Kudremukh national parks. He asked the businessmen to deposit the money into his HDFC bank account.

He even introduced himself as joint secretary to Karnataka’s chief minister before a Tamil Nadu firm, Lion Dates, saying the government had invited tenders to procure 50 lakh dates. He duped the company into depositing Rs 50,000 in his bank account.

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News Network
May 11,2020

Mumbai, May 11: Model-cum-actress Poonam Pandey was on Sunday booked by Mumbai Police for violating the coronvirus-induced lockdown norms, an official said.

An FIR was registered against Panedy and a person accompanying her by the Marine Drive Police.

She was found roaming in her high-end car at Marine Drive without any reason, he said.

"A case has been registered against Pandey and Sam Ahmad Bombay (46) under sections 269 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of a disease dangerous to life) and 188 (Disobedience of order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under provisions of the National Disaster Act," senior police inspector Mrityunjay Hiremath said.

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News Network
June 9,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 9: There’s no denying the fact that Sudeep is one of the most popular and sought-after names in Kannada cinema. The versatile actor has won the love of fans due to his ‘pan-India’ look and impressive selection of roles. A self-made star, he paid his dues before making it big in Sandalwood. The Bachchan actor had, some time ago, told Film Companion that his initial years in the industry were anything but easy.

 The mass hero revealed that his first two movies never saw the light of the day as they were abandoned midway. Following the setback, he finally made his Kannada debut with V Umakanth’s Thayavva and began a new chapter in life. Sadly, the film sank without a trace and was removed from theatres within three days of its release.

“My first two films did not see the light of the day while the third one did not see people,” he added.

Sudeep ultimately tasted success with the 2001 release Huchcha and the rest is history. Over the years, ‘Deepanna’ has starred in several commercially successful movies and proved that he is a certified ‘A-lister’. The star has also made an impact in non-Kannada movies like Rann and Eega, expanding his fanbase big time.

Coming to the present, Sudeep was last seen in the Bollywood biggie Dabangg 3 that did decent business at the box office. The actioner saw him share screen space with Salman Khan, giving fans a reason to rejoice. The cast included Arbaaz Khan and Sonakshi Sinha.

He will be turning his attention to the Kannada biggie Kotigobba 3, the third instalment of the Kotigobba series. The film, directed by Shiva Karthik, is one of the biggest movies of the year. It features Shraddha Das, Madonna Sabastian and Aftab Shivdasani in key roles.  He  will also be seen in the Anup Bhandari-directed Phantom.

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News Network
June 2,2020

New Delhi, Jun 2: Actor Anushka Sharma on Tuesday exhorted people to maintain hygiene and advised to stop open defecation in a bid to avoid coronavirus spread.

As the country is grappling with the coronavirus crisis, the 'PK' actor has joined the initiative with the Swachh Bharat Mission, which aims to tell the people that the contagion can be curbed through strict sanitation process.

"When women all over the country had decided that they would educate everyone on the lesson of close the door, shun the disease, no one had thought that their initiative would turn into such a huge wave!," the actor was seen saying in a video posted in the official Twitter handle of Swachh Bharat I #IndiaFightsCorona.

"Today, in the time of coronavirus pandemic, we all have to again remember and remind others about the lesson of cleanliness," she added.

"If we take care of cleanliness around us, by not defecating in the open, we will keep ourselves healthy and India clean. We will become strong to fight against any kind of disease," the 32-year-old star said.

The 'Sultan' actor noted that by stopping defecating in open and closing the toilet door at all times can be a solid measure to drive the disease out of the country.

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