Kannada TV actor arrested over allegations of sexual harassment, assault
Bengaluru, Dec 27: Television actor Charith Balappa has been arrested on charges of sexual harassment, assault, and criminal intimidation following a complaint filed by an actress, police said on Friday.
The alleged incident occurred between November 1, 2023, and December 13, 2024, they said.
Balappa, who has also appeared in Telugu serials, is known for his role in the Kannada serial 'Muddulakshmi'.
In her complaint, the 29-year-old woman, who works in both Telugu and Kannada serials, stated that she got to know him in 2017 since he was also an actor.
Accusing him of exploiting her good nature, she alleged that he pressured her to love him and coerced her into having a physical relationship, threatening to defame her if she refused.
The actress further alleged that knowing she lived alone, he once barged into her house with his associates, creating a ruckus and harassing her.
According to the FIR, the actor also demanded money from her and threatened to post private photos of them together on social media platforms and share them in a WhatsApp group, which also included other actors.
He allegedly claimed that, with his money and connections to politicians, rowdy elements, and police officers, he would file false cases against her and have her imprisoned, the FIR stated.
The woman also accused the actor, a divorcee, of mentally torturing and assaulting her. He further threatened to kill her, the FIR stated.
Based on the complaint, a case was registered at Rajarajeshwari Nagar police station under sections for voluntarily causing hurt, extortion, criminal intimidation, intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of peace, sexual harassment, and other sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The accused actor was arrested, and further investigation is underway, they added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
