Four held for damaging stone pillars at Hampi
Bengaluru: Days after a carved stone pillar was vandalised at the UNESCO world heritage site at Hampi in Karnataka, four youth were arrested Thursday for their involvement in the incident, police said.
"We have arrested all the four people who damaged the historic monuments," superintendent of police of Ballari district, Arun Rangarajan told PTI.
The four vandals work in Bengaluru, police sources said. The incident had triggered statewide outrage after a video of it went viral.
"While three of them felled the pillars, the fourth one shot the video," the Ballari police said in a statement.
Following the incident, water resources minister D K Shivakumar had said the state government would not tolerate any act of causing damage to historical sites and stern action would be taken against the culprits.
Locals had staged a protest, demanding that adequate security be provided to the monuments.
Recently, the erstwhile capital of Vijayanagar empire- Hampi- known for its rich architecture, was listed second on the New York Times list of 52 must-go sites in the world.
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Bengaluru: Four arrested for housebreaking, threats, extortion; fake PSI among accused
Bengaluru: Vidyaranyapura police have arrested four persons, including a man posing as a Police Sub-Inspector (PSI), for allegedly breaking into a house, threatening the occupants, and extorting money while wearing police uniforms.
The arrested accused have been identified as Mallikarjuna, Pramod, Vinay, and Hrithik.
Police said the accused had hatched a plan to pose as police personnel, conduct fake raids, and extort money from residents by intimidation.
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According to the police, Mallikarjuna had failed the PSI examination twice and later falsely projected himself as a PSI. He allegedly conducted photo shoots in his hometown, Siraguppa, wearing a police uniform, baton, cap, and shoes, claiming to be serving as a PSI in Bengaluru.
On December 7, the four accused allegedly went to the house of Naveen in the Vidyaranyapura limits, threatened him with a stick and an iron rod, and claimed they had information that he was selling ganja. Under the pretext of searching, they allegedly extorted ₹87,000 through bank transfer, ₹53,000 in cash kept in the house, and ₹2,000 from his wallet.
Following Naveen’s complaint, Vidyaranyapura police registered a case and launched an operation, leading to the arrest of all four accused. Police have seized ₹45,000 in cash and the car used to commit the crime.
Further investigation is underway.
