EC asks Karnataka CEO to take immediate action on DMK's complaint against Shobha Karandlaje
New Delhi, Mar 20: The Election Commission on Wednesday directed the Karnataka chief electoral officer (CEO) to take immediate and appropriate action on the DMK's complaint about alleged model code violation by Union minister and BJP leader Shobha Karandlaje.
The poll panel also sought a compliance report on the matter within 48 hours.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has sought action against Karandlaje for alleging that a person from Tamil Nadu was responsible for the IED blast at the Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru on March 1.
This is the first action ordered by the EC against a key political figure this Lok Sabha pols.
ALSO READ: FIR filed against Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje for alleging people from plant bombs in Karnataka
In its complaint to the Election Commission earlier in the day, the DMK said that the minister's statement generalised the people of Tamil Nadu as "extremists".
During a protest in Bengaluru on Tuesday, she had said that "law and order in Karnataka has deteriorated. People who come from Tamil Nadu plant bombs here, people from Delhi chant 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogans and people who come from Kerala were involved in acid attacks."
She later apologised for her remarks and said she was retracting her comments.
The Madurai police has booked her for "promoting enmity" between different groups, while her remarks had drawn sharp criticism from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and other DMK leaders.
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ED cracks down on suspected interstate liquor racket, raids 9 sites in Arunachal
Itanagar (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate has carried out coordinated searches at nine locations across Arunachal Pradesh in connection with a suspected large-scale interstate liquor smuggling and money laundering network, officials said on Monday.
The action, taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), is part of an expanding probe that points to a syndicate exploiting tax differentials among states.
Officials said liquor designated for sale within Arunachal Pradesh was allegedly diverted and supplied illegally to markets in Assam and other states.
The searches, conducted earlier this week, spanned multiple towns such as Itanagar, Naharlagun, Seppa, Ziro, Daporijo, Namsai and Roing, targeting wholesale liquor businesses suspected of being linked to the network.
According to officials, the investigation stems from a series of FIRs registered by Assam Police over the illegal transportation of liquor from Arunachal Pradesh into Assam.
Inputs from the Assam Excise Department further strengthened the case. An Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) was registered on October 17, 2024, and later widened through an addendum incorporating 173 additional FIRs.
Earlier searches conducted on February 4 last year, at premises linked to three alleged key operators, believed to be major liquor manufacturers, had revealed indications of a well-coordinated operation.
Investigators suspect that the network functioned through a chain of manufacturers, bonded warehouses and wholesalers, while masking real ownership using proxy arrangements such as tribal partnerships and dummy licence holders.
During the latest ED operations, the agency found that several wholesale units were operating under proxy licences issued in the names of local individuals, while actual control remained with the suspected masterminds.
Financial scrutiny revealed that between 51 and 90 per cent of total credits in certain bank accounts comprised unexplained cash deposits.
Investigators also flagged a pattern of invoice splitting, with transactions deliberately kept below Rs 2 lakh to avoid scrutiny. In one instance, more than 200 invoices of identical value of Rs 1,99,554 were generated within a single month at one location.
On-ground staff reportedly confirmed that records, including stock registers and daily cash collections, were being routed to offices associated with the alleged controllers.
The ED said it seized approximately Rs 40 lakh in unaccounted cash during the searches.
In a significant finding, 14 seals, some purportedly belonging to the Excise Department of the Arunachal Pradesh government, were recovered from one of the premises. These are suspected to have been used to create fake transport permits to facilitate the unauthorised movement of liquor.
Further investigation is underway, officials added.
