Top Kannada actors face I-T dept heat for 2nd day
I-T officials raid four top Kannada actors, three producers
Bengaluru, Jan 4: The Income Tax department raids on four leading Kannada film actors and three producers here continued for the second day Friday, officials said.
In a simultaneous swoop down, the I-T officials began the raids Thursday morning on the properties of film actors Shiva Rajkumar and his brother Puneeth Rajkumar, sons of Kannada thespian late Rajkumar, and Sudeep and Yash.
The film producers who were raided are C R Manohar, 'Rockline' Venkatesh and Vijay Kiragandur.
With no relief to the actors and producers on the second day as well, the Income Tax officials expanded the scope of the raid by searching the premises of their close friends and relatives, I-T sources said.
The sleuths went through documents, files, ledger books, and seized a huge cache of cash and gold, they said.
Meanwhile, supporters of Shiva Rajkumar staged a demonstration outside his Manyata Tech Park residence, protesting against the raid.
Sudeep had expressed his apprehension Thursday that the raids could be linked to three blockbuster movies 'KGF', 'Villain' and 'Nata Sarvabhouma'.
Nicknamed 'Hattrick star', Shivarajkumar and Puneeth Rajkumar are the sons of Kannada thespian late Rajkumar.
Both actors have been delivering blockbuster movies.
Sudeep, who anchored the Kannada version of 'Big Boss', was hailed for his role in the movie 'Eega' - Makkhi in Hindi - and the multilingual 'Baahubali', which broke new grounds in Indian cinema and created records in box office collections.
'Rockline' Venkatesh had co-produced the Hindi movie 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan'.
Vijay is the producer of the latest blockbuster movie "KGF", starring Yash, Srinidhi Shetty and Anant Nag.
The film hit 2,460 screens all over the country on December 21 and is reportedly a box office hit, not only in Kannada, but also in the Hindi and Tamil versions.
C R Manohar has his own production house called 'Tanvi Films'.
He has produced Kannada and Telugu movies.
His latest movie was 'The Villain', starring Shiva Rajkumar, Sudeep and Mithun Chakraborty.
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Lebanon appoints new representative for talks with Israel, rejects linkage to Iran
Beirut: Lebanon’s has moved to underline its independent position in ongoing regional developments, amid attempts to link the country to the broader conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
President Joseph Aoun, while announcing the appointment of former US ambassador Simon Karam as Lebanon’s representative in talks with Israel, made it clear that Karam would be the sole representative for Lebanon and that there would be no substitute.
The move comes in response to what the Lebanese officials see as efforts by Iran to tie Lebanon’s situation to the wider regional conflict. Iran had indicated that there would be no ceasefire involving the US, Israel and Iran unless it also included a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Some groups, including Hezbollah and its supporters, had expressed support for linking the situations, citing concerns that the Lebanese government has limited leverage in negotiations with Israel. Lebanon is not formally a party to the conflict, and its army is considered weak.
However, others, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, have opposed this approach. They view Iran’s stance as an attempt to influence Lebanon’s internal affairs and see it as undermining the country’s sovereignty.
Officials backing the government’s position say the move is aimed at reaffirming Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring that decisions about peace and ceasefire within the country are not dictated externally.
They also see it as a safeguard, so that any breakdown in talks between the US, Israel and Iran does not automatically lead to renewed conflict in Lebanon.
