Udupi, July 15: Noted dancer Kalamandalam Usha Datar said that Yakshagana Guru Bannanje Sanjeeva Suvarna who studied Yakshagana and gave shows in more than 52 countries, was a cultural harbinger of coastal region.
Presiding over the felicitation to Yakshagana guru Bannanje Sanjeeva Suvarna and award presentation programme organized by the Yakshagana Kalaranga and Bannanje Sanjeeva Suvarna Felicitation Committee at Ajjarakadu Town Hall here on Sunday, she said that Bannanje had imbibed the art form. The practices, culture and tradition of the land he had preserved should be passed on to the next generation. Young generation should take up this responsibility, she said.
Folk artiste Guruva Koraga Hiriyadka inaugurated the programme by beating the drum on the occasion. Bannanje Sanjeeva Suvarna performed Yakshagana steps. Felicitation Committee chairman Dr. Bhaskarananda welcomed, while Narayana Hegde compared the programme.
Later, Sanjeeva Suvarna demonstrated Yakshagana with the teachers of the art and students. Senior artistes Hiriyadka Gopal Rao and Margoli Govinda Siregar were felicitated. Cultural thinker Lakshmisha Tholpady, mimetic expert MA Hegde, theatre director Chidambar Rao Jambe, Maharashtra Dashavatara expert Vijay Kumar Paterpakar, art critic Sadananda Menon, Vardesh Hiregange, Bhootaradhane artiste Shiroor Koraga Panara, V Jayarajan of Kerala art forms, writer Madhava Chippali and others were present on the occasion.
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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.
