I have contributed to construction of Ram Temple, will visit someday: K'taka Cong Minister Hebbalkar
Udupi: Karnataka Women and Child Welfare Minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar emphasized that the upcoming consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22 is not associated with any political party but belongs to the entire population of India, totaling 140 crore people.
During her visit to Udupi town for the Paryaya celebrations at the Shri Krishna Mutt, Hebbalkar, who is also the Udupi District In-charge Minister, spoke to reporters on Wednesday. She stated, "I personally have a deep devotion to God and adhere to the principles of my religion. I have contributed to the construction of the temple in Ayodhya and plan to visit the new Ram Temple someday. The temple is the heritage of Indian citizens and does not belong to any single party or organization."
However, Hebbalkar declined to comment on the decision of Congress leaders to skip the consecration ceremony. When asked about BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde's recent derogatory remarks about Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Hebbalkar condemned the use of such language for political gain, calling it unacceptable and intolerable.
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Regarding Congress member Yathindra Siddaramaiah's statement about Siddaramaiah retaining the CM post for five years if the party secures a higher number of seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Hebbalkar expressed ignorance about Yathindra's intentions and deferred to the Party High Command for further clarification.
Responding to a reporter's question about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's road shows for election campaigns, Hebbalkar mentioned that road shows are a regular and normal feature in politics, and the Congress also conducts such events. She criticized Karnataka's Parliamentarians for not addressing the state's issues of floods, drought, and GST-related problems.
Hebbalkar noted the absence of a tableau from Karnataka in the Republic Day celebrations and suggested that the people of the state have already determined how to respond to this perceived neglect.
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
