Third charge sheet filed against Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja
Allegations include obstruction of forest department officials in land dispute
Belthangady: Another charge sheet has been lodged against Belthangady MLA Harish Poonja in the Bengaluru People's Representatives Court, alongside 17 other individuals, including Vidhan Parishad member Pratap Simha Naik.
The case stems from an incident approximately eight months ago when a dispute arose between officials and public representatives during the attempted eviction of encroached forest department land in Kalenja village. In response to the eviction, MLA Harish Poonja and BJP workers reportedly reconstructed a house at the contested site. Subsequently, when forest department officials moved to vacate the structure on October 9, 2023, Poonja, Naik, and others allegedly obstructed their efforts, leading to a significant altercation.
The Dharmasthala police, following an investigation, filed a charge sheet on June 1, citing obstruction of official duty against the accused individuals.
This marks the third charge sheet against MLA Harish Poonja, following prior allegations related to his involvement in illegal stone pelting and subsequent disturbances at the Belthangady police station, as well as his purported participation in a protest held without permission, which reportedly involved threats against the police.
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3 officials of private banks arrested in Gujarat in Rs 2,500 crore cyber fraud; 20 held so far
Rajkot (PTI): Three officials of leading private banks were arrested for their alleged involvement in a Rs 2,500-crore cyber fraud racket in Gujarat's Rajkot district, bringing the number of those held so far in the case to 20, police said on Monday.
Those arrested were identified as Maulik Kamani, a personal manager at Yes Bank in Padadhari; Kalpesh Dangariya, a manager at Axis Bank in Jamnagar; and Anurag Baldha, a personal banker with HDFC Bank, Rajkot (Rural) Superintendent of Police Vijay Gurjar said.
Dangariya and Baldha were previously employed with Yes Bank, he added.
Kamani allegedly assisted the earlier arrested accused in opening and managing suspicious accounts. He also helped bypass banking alerts triggered by high-value transactions by submitting additional documentation to keep accounts active, the SP said.
Kamani was allegedly involved in cash withdrawals that were later routed through hawala channels (illegal money transfer system), supported by digital evidence recovered from his mobile device, he added.
Dangariya is accused of facilitating the opening of fraudulent accounts using fake or misrepresented identities, police said.
He also assisted in structuring documentation, including Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC)-related papers, to prevent transactions from being flagged as suspicious, they said.
On the other hand, Baldha opened new accounts after verification and certification processes as part of the racket, Gurjar informed.
All the three accused are in police custody, while others are in jail under judicial remand, SP said.
So far, police have identified 85 bank accounts linked to the racket with 535 complaints filed on the cyber crime portal.
The total transaction linked to the cyber fraud exceeds Rs 2,500 crore, police said.
The earlier fraud amount was pegged by police at Rs 1,500 crore.
