ED raids result of Congress factionalism: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi
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Gadag (PTI): Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has claimed that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids on Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara were the result of factionalism within the Congress's Karnataka unit.
Joshi said a faction of the ruling Congress in Karnataka had provided all the information to the ED, which led to raids on institutions linked to Parameshwara.
The ED raided 16 locations on Wednesday and Thursday, some linked to Parameshwara, including Siddhartha Institute of Technology and Siddhartha Medical College.
The raids were conducted in connection with a gold smuggling case involving the Kannada film actress Harshavardhini Ranya, also known as Ranya Rao.
The ED suspects that Rs 40 lakh was "diverted" from one of Parameshwara’s institutions to pay Ranya’s credit card bill.
“Who wrote to the ED asking them to take action? A faction within the Congress sent all the information to the ED against Parameshwara, and now they are staging a drama here,” Joshi told reporters in Gadag.
“I want to make it clear that I respect Parameshwara—he is a cultured politician. The point is, the ED is investigating because there were complaints. A faction within the Congress had filed a complaint with the ED,” he added.
Joshi claimed that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is aware of the faction that sent the complaint to the ED.
“Ask Siddaramaiah—he’ll tell you. He has the intelligence wing under his control. Are you just putting on a show, Mr Siddaramaiah?” Joshi asked.
Noting that the ED is acting in accordance with the law, Joshi clarified that the raids were not being carried out because Parameshwara is the Home Minister or a Congress leader, but because a complaint was made by a faction within the Congress.
Ranya Rao was arrested on March 3 at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru after arriving from Dubai.
Acting on a tip-off, DRI officials detained her and seized gold bars weighing 14.2 kg, valued at over Rs 12.56 crore.
She is the stepdaughter of DGP-rank officer K Ramachandra Rao.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
