Mangaluru, Jan 24: Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel attached to the Mangaluru junction railway station on Sunday detained a man travelling with Rs 1.48 crore in cash and 800 gm of gold ornaments without any valid records on the Mumbai LTT-Ernakulam Duronto express.
The RPF later handed over the man, identified as Mahendra Singh Rao (33), a native of Udaipur in Rajasthan, to the railway police at Mangaluru central, a release from the RPF said here.
The railway police recorded his arrest charging cases under the provisions of the code of criminal procedure and the Karnataka Police Act.
The man was held during a preventive check on the Duronto express by the RPF personnel. They examined the luggage of the man who was travelling on S4 coach and found the currency bundles wrapped in old newspapers.
The man told the personnel that he was working for Shubh Gold owned by Praveen Singh at Kozhikode in Kerala. A person known to his owner had handed him six packs of currency notes and three packets of jewellery at Mumbai to be given to the owner, he said.
The seized currency notes in Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 denomination accounted for Rs 1,48,58,000, while the gold ornaments weighed around 800 gm worth Rs 40 lakh, the release said.
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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister M B Patil on Tuesday chaired meetings with industry representatives from the aerospace and defence, machine tools, auto/EV, and green energy sectors to discuss sector growth and government support measures.
The meetings were attended by leading industrialists and their representatives, with some participating virtually.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister for Large and Medium Industries said Karnataka is at the forefront of the country’s aerospace and defence sectors.
He noted that Suzuki and Toyota plan to launch aerial taxi services in Japan by 2028, with Bengaluru-based Sasmos supplying electrical equipment for the project.
Industrialists suggested introducing similar “fly-taxi” services in Karnataka through an appropriate policy, which Patil said would be examined seriously.
The minister highlighted the need to establish testing centres and Common Facility Centres for the aerospace and defence industries and assured that these facilities would be provided.
Suggestions were also made to prepare a comprehensive roadmap for sector growth.
Karnataka has urged the Central Government to approve Defence Corridor projects in the Bengaluru North–Kolar–Chikkaballapur and Dharawada–Vijayapura–Belagavi regions.
Industrialists also suggested a corridor between Bengaluru and Mysuru, Patil said.
He said Karnataka aims to become a hub for defence electronics manufacturing, with plans to establish a 200-acre Defence Electronics Park and a 100-acre Avionics and Sensor Park.
These projects will be implemented once the Special Investment Region is operational, and land availability will not be an issue.
On the machine tools sector, Patil said the industry has recorded an annual turnover of Rs 36,500 crore and is witnessing steady growth.
Large-scale exhibitions have increased demand, and the state must strengthen its capabilities to develop control systems for heavy machinery. One testing unit is already operational in Bengaluru, with another planned for Tumakuru. Expansion of vocational training institutes in industrial areas is also underway.
In the Auto and EV sector, Vision Group members highlighted the need for a network of dry ports and more EV charging stations across the state.
Patil noted that the Tata Group is manufacturing EV buses in Dharawada for nationwide supply. Plans for mini excavator production and export facilitation were also discussed, along with the establishment of a testing facility for two-wheeler EVs.
For the Green Energy sector, the group emphasised the need for a suitable policy on battery-based energy storage and the establishment of data centres.
Patil assured that the government will seriously consider all suggestions and respond positively.
