Personal secretaries of three UP ministers arrested for seeking bribes
Lucknow, Jan 6 : A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested the personal secretaries of state ministers Archana Tripathi, Sandeep Singh and Om Prakash Rajbhar on charges of corruption and bribery.
"On getting sufficient evidence against the secretariat staff members, they have been arrested and sent to jail. The chief minister has a zero-tolerance towards corruption," the Uttar Pradesh government said in a statement late on Saturday night.
On December 28, the three were suspended on graft charges following a sting operation by a news channel.
They were suspended on orders of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who also directed officials to register a police case against them, a state government release said.
In accordance with Adityanath's direction, the matter will be probed by SIT and it will submit its report within 10 days after taking statements of all parties in the case, it said.
The SIT will be led by Additional Director General of Police, Lucknow Zone, Rajiv Krishna.
A sting operation was conducted by a TV channel purportedly showing three personal secretaries of ministers allegedly seeking bribes in return for favours such as transfers and issuing contracts.
In the sting operation, Om Prakash Kashyap, personal secretary of Backward Welfare Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar is purportedly seen asking for Rs 40 lakh for a transfer.
Rajbhar, who is a minister from the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), said he had removed his personal secretary and written to the chief minister to take stern action against him.
In the same sting operation, personal secretary of Minister of State for Mining Archana Pandey was shown allegedly striking a deal with the channel's reporter for getting him mining contracts in about six districts.
Santosh Awasthi, personal secretary to MoS Basic Education Sandeep Singh, is also seen in the sting operation allegedly working out a deal for a contract for books and seeking his own cut.
Singh is the grandson of former UP chief minister and present Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh.
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Six foreign nationals held for alleged prostitution in Bengaluru
Bengaluru (PTI): Six foreign women were arrested after they were found to be allegedly engaged in illegal activities by soliciting men in a public place for prostitution, police said on Tuesday.
The arrests were made by the Women Protection Wing of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) on April 24, they said.
Police, however, have not disclosed the nationalities of the women in the statement.
According to police, the operation was carried out following a tip off that some foreign women were standing near the footpath of the bus stop close to Madiwala Check Post, within the jurisdiction of Koramangala Police Station here and were soliciting men passing by on the road for prostitution.
Based on this information, the officers and staff of the CCB Women Protection Wing immediately visited the spot and conducted a verification, they said.
During the operation, it was found that six foreign women were engaging in illegal activities by soliciting men in a public place for prostitution, a statement issued by the office of the police commissioner stated.
Acting swiftly, the officers and staff conducted a raid and secured all six foreign women. Upon inquiry regarding their passports and visas, they failed to provide valid and satisfactory information, it said.
"Subsequently, all six foreign women were produced before the Koramangala Police Station along with a report for further legal action. In this regard, a case has been registered at Koramangala Police Station, and further investigation is in progress," the police statement added.
