Ullal police arrest AP man for allegedly blackmailing Someshwara Municipality Revenue officer, staff
Mangaluru: The Ullal police have arrested the accused who allegedly blackmailed and threatened the revenue officer and staff of Someshwara Municipality by calling them on the phone under the guise of Lokayukta.
The accused, identified as Dhananjaya Reddy Tota (31) from Nallagutlapalli village in Andhra Pradesh, allegedly contacted the Someshwara Municipality Revenue Officer, Purushottam, via a WhatsApp call in April 2024. Posing as a Lokayukta official, he claimed there was an allegation against Purushottam and demanded money to "resolve" the issue. He threatened to cause trouble if the money was not paid.
When Purushottam verified the caller’s identity through Truecaller, the name "D. Prabhakara, Lokayukta PI" appeared. However, upon contacting Karnataka Lokayukta officials in Mangaluru, he discovered that no such officer existed.
In a similar incident, senior health inspector Alli Nair Krishna also received threatening calls from the accused, demanding money.
Investigations revealed that Dhananjaya Reddy Tota had a history of committing similar crimes in 2019, with cases registered against him at Gauribidanur Police Station in Chikkaballapur district and Shabad Police Station in Hyderabad.
A complaint was lodged, and the Ullal police, led by PSI Santosh Kumar and supported by Crime Investigation Department personnel Ranjit Kumar, Anand Badgi, and Manjunath, successfully tracked and arrested the accused.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
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.
