Two died, properties worth Rs 20 cr damaged: DC
Rain damage in Dakshina Kannada
Mangaluru, May 30: Deputy Commissioner Sasikumar Senthil said that two persons have lost their precious lives and the properties worth Rs 20.74 crore was damaged in the rains that lashed the coastal region on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters about rain damages at his office here on Wednesday, he said that the rain lashed the coastal region for almost six hours continuously recording 368 mm rainfall. The district had recorded the average rainfall of 156.8 mm. Because of the heavy rains, roads, bridges, private buildings, electric poles and others worth Rs 16.63 crore were damaged. Total 560 houses were damaged causing the loss of Rs 4.11 crore. In the district, total 35 houses including 30 in Mangaluru taluk alone were completely damaged and the loss was estimated at Rs 78.33 lakh. Apart from this, 42 houses including 22 houses in Mangaluru taluk were partially damaged and 483 houses have minor damages, the DC said.
The district administration would issue compensation to the houses which were completely damaged in a couple of days. Remaining partially damaged houses and with minor damages would verified once again and disburse the compensation, he said.
The onset of monsoon rain should have been started from June 1. But because of the depression, the monsoon started three days ahead of the actual date. The district administration has taken all measures for the last one month to tackle the monsoon rains. The district would get an average rainfall of 150 mm. Earlier also, the district has seen such a rainfall. As the district administration was not prepared to face the rains for six hours continuously, it has faced lot of problems and inconvenience, he said.
As there was waxing in Phalguni and Netravati rivers on Tuesday morning, the rainwater could not reach the rivers due to which low-lying areas were marooned. But by the evening, the water level in the rivers was decreased and the rainwater gushed into the rivers. Since the district administration was prepared to face the eventuality, it has pressed boats into the service and taken other measures on time. In order to help the distressed people, six gruel centres were opened in the city, he said.
Additional Deputy Commissioner Vaishaly, DHO Dr Ramakrishna Rao and others were present.
Encroachment of storm water drainages to be cleared: DC
The DC said that a team of officials were entrusted the responsibility of inspecting the encroachment of storm water drainages and those which were filled with silt in the district. As a priority, this team would inspect the present condition of major storm water drainages from Kottara Chowki to Phalguni river and from Jappu to Netravati river and submit a report within next three days. If the storm water drainages were encroached, the district administration would take action immediately, he said.
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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.
