Man kidnapped by miscreants near Bengaluru
Bengaluru (PTI): A man was allegedly kidnapped by a group of miscreants after they blocked his car and sprayed a substance on him, police said on Monday.
The victim has been identified as Gopal alias Gopi, a resident of Honnakalasapura village in Anekal taluk on the outskirts of Bengaluru City. He is engaged in real estate and financial business, they said.
The incident occurred on Sunday near Karpur Gate in Anekal taluk, police said.
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According to police, Gopal and his friend Satish were travelling in a car from Attibele towards Anekal when the incident occurred near Karpur.
The assailants, who had allegedly planned the abduction, rammed the car with another vehicle to stop it.
The miscreants then allegedly sprayed a substance on Gopal and forcibly kidnapped him before fleeing the spot in another car, a senior police officer said.
Satish, who was also sprayed by the kidnappers, managed to alert Gopal's family members about the incident. The family subsequently informed the police.
A team from the Anekal police station rushed to the spot and conducted an inspection. The police have seized the vehicle used to block the car.
Efforts are on to trace the abductors and rescue the victim, police added.
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SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
