Further discussion on Karnataka cabinet rejig to be held next week: CM Bommai
New Delhi, Apr 7: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday said he held a broad discussion on the issue of his cabinet rejig with BJP National President J P Nadda, and further discussion will be held next week.
Speaking to reporters before leaving for Bengaluru, Bommai said he held a meeting with Nadda on Wednesday on the matter.
"I had a broad discussion on cabinet expansion. The party top brass has obtained all the information. Nadda has said further discussion would be held during his visit to Karnataka for the state party executive committee meeting," he said.
After deliberation on the issue at the party state executive committee meeting scheduled on April 16-17, the party chief will take a final decision after consulting senior leaders and the BJP National General Secretary, Bommai said.
"Naddaji also asked me to make all preparations for the state executive committee meeting and discuss on how to prepare to face the next assembly elections," the CM said.
Bommai was in the national capital on a two-day visit to meet Union ministers and party leaders.
Pressure has been mounting on the chief minister to expand or rejig his cabinet soon, after the recent assembly elections in five states.
Some legislators have even been advocating a Gujarat-like overhaul of the Karnataka cabinet to make way for new faces ahead of the assembly election next year.
There are currently 30 ministers in the State Cabinet, including the chief minister, against the sanctioned strength of 34.
Shah, who recently visited the state, had given a target to Karnataka BJP leaders to ensure the party's victory in 150 seats out of the total of 224 in the 2023 assembly elections. The BJP is eyeing a second consecutive term in the state.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
