Mangaluru, Sep 3: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has established a new sub-zonal office at Kankanady in Mangaluru district that began functioning from Friday.

The office is located at E-7, Central Excise Staff Quarters, Kankanady in Mangaluru and it will function under its existing zonal office in the state that is based in the capital city of Bengaluru, the agency said in a statement.

The new office will be headed by a deputy director rank officer and have jurisdiction over 15 districts of the state -- Dakshina Kannada, Bagalkot, Belgaum, Bellary, Bidar, Bijapur, Gadag, Haveri, Davangere, Dharwad, Gulbarga, Uttara Kannada, Koppal, Udupi and Raichur, it said.

Two similar sub-zonal offices were recently established by the ED in Shillong (Meghalaya) and Imphal (Manipur).

The ED functions under the Union finance ministry and apart from enforcing the criminal anti-money laundering law PMLA, it also implements the civil sections of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and Fugitive Economic Offenders Act that was brought in 2018.

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Gorakhpur (PTI): A hospital employee was booked for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in the pretext of an ultrasound test here in the district women's hospital, police said on Saturday.

According to the complaint, the woman, a resident of the Gulriha area, visited the district women's hospital on Thursday morning for an ultrasound test.

She was directed to a room, where Abhimanyu Gupta was conducting ultrasounds. When her turn came, the accused allegedly stared at her and told her to remove all her clothes, claiming it was necessary for the test and that a massage would also be required, she said.

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The woman alleged that once she complied, the accused began making obscene advances and tried to force himself on her. When she screamed, he allegedly gagged her, abused her and threatened to kill her before pushing her out of the room.

She said her complaints within the hospital went unheard, forcing her to approach the police.

Taking cognisance of the complaint, the hospital administration constituted a three-member inquiry committee, officials said.

Senior consultant (paediatrics) Dr Jay Kumar said, "The woman has levelled serious allegations against a staff member. Senior officials have been informed, and a departmental inquiry is underway. Strict action will be taken if the charges are proved."

Kotwali Station House Officer Chatrapal Singh said a case has been registered, and efforts are on to nab the accused.