Karnataka to strengthen existing panel to check financial frauds
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government Tuesday decided to strengthen the existing panel to check financial frauds by including some more officials from other government bodies in the wake of recurring incidents in the state.
"There already exists a high-level committee. We will include a few more in it after discussions with the chief secretary. We will take steps to ensure financial frauds don't recur," home minister M B Patil said.
He said the committee should have representatives from the Reserve Bank of India, Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax department.
Patil said there were many challenges to tackle cases of financial fraud, which relate to law, the cooperative and revenue departments, municipal corporations shops and business establishment department and registrars of companies.
The home minister said he would request the chief secretary to fix responsibilities on the officials concerned when such incidents occur. A representation would be submitted to the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court on dealing with such cases, he said.
A major shortcoming, Patil said, was that Karnataka police does not have powers to confiscate properties, which their counterparets in Tamil Nadu have.
Necessary changes would be made to give the state police such powers, he said.
The minister said seven of the 24 fraud cases under investigation were being probed by the central crime branch and the rest by the criminal investigation department.
The government decision comes in the backdrop of Monday's incident when hundreds of investors thronged 'I Monetary Advisory jewels' store here worried about their money, after an audio clip surfaced with a person,alleged to be its founder and Managing Director Mohammed Mansoor Khan heard saying he is going to commit suicide as he was fed up with corruption.
Police had said they had received thousands of complaints against IMA jewels and Khan, whose whereabouts are still not known, from investors who are mainly vendors, small businessmen and from middle and lower middle class.
Referring to the 'I Monetary Advisory jewels' store case, Patil said most of the investors were from the minority community.
Since drawing interest was prohibited in Islam, Khan had turned the investors into shareholders of his business and promised distributing the profit from his earnings, he added.
Meanwhile, police have intensified the search to trace Khan.
Earlier, the government had handed over to a Special Investigation Team, the case relating to the alleged "fraud" by the investment firm, affecting thousands of investors, the chief minister's office 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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