BJP stages protest against JSW land sale, financial fraud
Bengaluru, Jun 13: The BJP Thursday took out a protest rally in the city accusing the state government of being lenient towards financial fraudsters and selling precious land to JSW Steel at a throwaway price.
Holding placards and waving party flags, hundreds of BJP workers thronged the Maurya Circle and staged a demonstration.
They raised slogans against the state government accusing it of being insensitive to people's problems.
Leading the protest, former deputy chief minister R Ashok referred to the IMA Jewellers' case.
The firm's owner Mohammed Mansoor Khan is reportedly absconding following emergence of an audio clip, purportedly of him, in which he is heard threatening to commit suicide.
"They (fraudsters) decamped with the money of 30,000 Muslims... the owner of the firm has escaped," Ashok said, addressing the gathering.
Seven directors of the firm at the centre of an alleged financial fraud that left thousands of investors in the lurch have been apprehended.
The state government has formed an 11-member special investigation team to probe the case.
BJP MLC N Ravi Kumar said "...broad daylight robbery is happening here. Muslim brethren are being exploited right under the nose of the Congress-JDS coalition government by one after another fraudster companies."
The protesters also raised the JSW Steel land sale issue.
They accused the government of being hand in glove with JSW Steel as it allotted the land to the company at a "throwaway price."
While welcoming the government's decision to review the land sale, they said the government should make sure that every inch of the land is recovered.
Caught in a bind over the controversial land deal, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy Tuesday said the government's decision on sale of 3,667 acres to JSW Steel will be reconsidered and placed before the cabinet once again for discussion.
After the protest rally, the BJP leaders and workers proceeded to stage a sit-in at Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat complex, when they were arrested.
Later, they were released, police said.
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Accused gunman at correspondents' dinner was believed to be targeting top officials, Blanche says
Washington (AP): The accused gunman who tried to storm the ballroom at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner with guns and knives travelled across the country before the event and is believed to have been targeting members of the Trump administration, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday.
Blanche also said officials believe the suspect traveled by train from California to Chicago and then on to Washington, where in recent days he checked in as a guest to the hotel where one of Washington's glitziest events was being held Saturday night.
Investigators have not publicly named the suspect, but two law enforcement officials familiar with the matter have identified him to The Associated Press as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California.
Law enforcement officials who have examined the gunman's electronic devices and his writings preliminarily believe he intended to target administration members in attendance at the dinner. He attempted to charge into the cavernous ballroom at the Washington Hilton but was tackled to the ground in a chaotic scene that resulted in shots being fired, President Donald Trump being hurried off the stage and guests ducking for cover beneath their tables.
“It does appear that he did in fact set out to target folks who work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC's “Meet the Press.”
The suspect is believed to have purchased the firearms he carried within the last couple of years, Blanche said. He is not being cooperative and is expected to face multiple charges on Monday.
Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him. One officer was shot in a bullet-resistant vest but was recovering, officials said. The gunman was taken into custody and was not injured, but was being evaluated at a hospital, police said.
“He failed,” Blanche said on CBS's “Face the Nation.” “Law enforcement did their jobs.”
Social media posts that appear to match the suspect show he is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer.
A May 2025 profile photo of Allen appears to match the appearance of the man in a photo of the alleged attacker being taken into custody that was posted Saturday night by Trump. The photo, posted to the social networking site LinkedIn, shows him in a cap and gown after graduating with a master's degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Allen earned a bachelor's degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He listed his involvement there in a Christian student fellowship and a campus group that battled with Nerf guns.
The shooting at the security barricades happened minutes after the event got underway.
The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the room as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds. Gasps echoed through the ballroom as guests realized something was happening. Hundreds of journalists immediately got on phones to call in information.
“Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck. From one corner, a “God Bless America” chant began as the president was escorted offstage. Outside the hotel, members of the National Guard and other authorities flooded the area as helicopters circled overhead.
After an initial attempt to resume the event, it was scrapped for the night and will be rescheduled.
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