Vitla: UT Khader, Karnataka Assembly Speaker and Mangaluru (Ullal) legislator, paid a visit to the residence of the beedi company owner in Bantwal taluk, following allegations of raid on the house and robbery by a group of miscreants, pretending to be Enforcement Directorate (ED), recently.

Khader visited the house, situated at Narsha of Bolanturu in Bantwal taluk, and met the businessman Sulaiman Haji on Wednesday morning. “The police officers are using hi-tech methods of investigation to hasten the probe into the case, but will require the support of the residents of the house and the neighbours to get vital information,” he told the house owner.

“There are 4 teams led by the Deputy Superintendent (DySP) investigating the matter, and collecting information from Kerala and other places. We are confident that the robbers will soon be held.”

Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police (SP) and DySP Vijay Prasad held a confidential meeting with Sulaiman and his son Iqbal on the incident.

Bantwal Jamiatul Falah President Rashid Vitla, Vitla Police Inspector HE Nagaraj and Sub-inspector Vidya were among the other present on the occasion.

On Friday night, a group of six men arrived at the house of Sulaiman, who owns the ‘Singari Beedis’ company for several years, unexpectedly. Convincing the residents that they were officers of the ED, the men conducted a mock raid on Sulaiman’s house and looted the beedi company owner of a huge amount of money. The mobile phones of the residents, which were also taken away by the men, were found on a rack on the ground floor of the house, on Tuesday.

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Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.

Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.

Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.

An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.

The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.

A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.

Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."

"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.

"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.

A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.