5 men get jail term for misusing govt funds in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): A special CBI court here has sentenced five men to seven years rigorous imprisonment each and fined them over Rs 5 crore in total for misappropriation of funds belonging to a Karnataka government body.
In the verdict pronounced on September 8, Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat convicted five persons -- Kebballi Anand, H S Nagalingaswamy, Chandrashekar, H K Nagaraja and K B Harshan -- and fined them a total of Rs 5,02,75,000.
Of this, Rs 5.02 crore will be paid as compensation to Mandya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) which these five men cheated and the remaining will be forfeited to the state. If they default in paying the fine, the convicts will spend another two years in prison.
Based on the orders of the Government of Karnataka, the CBI and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had registered the case on March 18, 2014. The five men were released on bail on July 22, 2015.
They had been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Kebballi Anand is in the iron ore business with a registered company named A R Logistics. Nagalingaswamy is the CEO of Future Farm & Estates, Chandrashekar is the proprietor of Akash Enterprises, a real estate firm; Nagaraja is a first division assistant in MUDA, and Harshan is an employee of Anand.
In the case, all five men fraudulently filled vouchers and cheques, and then misappropriated five cheques amounting to Rs 1 crore each issued by the then Commissioner of MUDA in favour of Indian Bank, Mandya branch to invest in the authority's name.
The five men had conspired to deposit the money in the account of Akash Enterprises instead and caused a loss of Rs 5 crore to MUDA, the court said.
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
