Karnataka panel may seek employee data from private firms for Socio-Educational survey
Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes (KSCBC) is reportedly considering obtaining employee data from private establishments to add “greater depth” to primary data collected during the Social & Educational Survey.
The physical enumeration phase of the exercise concluded on October 31, covering 6.13 crore people, about 89.48% of the state’s estimated 6.85 crore population.
As per the Economic Survey of Karnataka 2024–25, cited by Deccan Herald, around 24.35 lakh people are employed in the organised sector, including both public and private employment. Of these, 10.28 lakh work in the public sector, while 14.07 lakh are employed in private firms.
“We are thinking about obtaining information from private establishments, but no final decision has been taken yet,” DH quoted KSCBC chairman Madhusudan R Naik.
The Commission is also in the process of gathering secondary data, which includes caste-wise details of employees across Groups A, B, C, and D in all government departments.
Backward Classes Welfare Department Secretary Tulasi Maddineni said letters have already been sent to principal secretaries of all government departments, requesting community-wise employee data from their respective departments.
While data from private companies will boost the quality of secondary data, there are apprehensions that many private companies may not cooperate, the report added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Illegal betting case: ED attaches ₹177 crore assets linked to Congress MLA K.C. Veerendra
Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it has attached assets worth ₹177.3 crore belonging to Congress MLA K.C. Veerendra, also known as ‘Puppy’, and his associates in connection with an illegal online betting and gambling case, Deccan Herald reported.
According to the ED, the attached properties include immovable assets such as agricultural land and residential sites, along with other movable assets. The agency said these assets are believed to be proceeds of crime generated through illegal online betting and gambling activities.
The ED claimed that its investigation uncovered that Veerendra and his associates were the masterminds behind a nationwide illegal online betting network operating with the same modus operandi.
“The investigation has established that the accused generated substantial proceeds of crime by cheating the public through online betting and impersonation scams. In the scheme, unsuspecting players were induced to stake money on rigged illegal gaming websites, which functioned like online casinos. Their deposits, running into crores of rupees, were collected through payment gateways into designated payment aggregator accounts,” Deccan Herald quoted the agency as saying.
“The victims were initially shown fake winnings to build trust and were later blocked from withdrawing money. The investigation revealed the use of hundreds of mule accounts and multiple payment gateways for laundering the proceeds of crime,” the agency said.
Earlier, the ED carried out search and seizure operations at more than 60 locations across several states, during which large quantities of cash, gold bullion, gold and silver jewellery, vehicles, digital devices and incriminating documents were seized.
The ED also arrested Veerendra under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and a prosecution complaint has been filed before the Special PMLA court. Based on the evidence gathered, the agency has provisionally attached properties held directly and indirectly by him, which are believed to be linked to money laundering.
“With this, the ED has attached assets worth more than ₹320 crore in the present case under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002. Further, during the course of the investigation, proceeds of crime exceeding ₹2,300 crore have been identified so far, which were generated through illegal online betting and gambling activities and subsequently laundered through multiple layers of transactions,” the agency said.
