8% commission being sought from contractors to clear pending bills in Karnataka, alleges Yediyurappa
Bengaluru (PTI): Veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa on Thursday said his party will hold a three-day protest in the city, probably by the end of this month, condemning the 'policies' of the Congress government in Karnataka and its style of functioning.
The former chief minister also claimed that none of the contractors are coming forward to take up development work in the state, as those in government are not making timely payments to them. They are seeking 7.5-8 per cent commission from them for clearing pending bills, he alleged.
"Protesting against this government we will hold a satyagraha (protest) in front of Vidhana Soudha and send a warning to this government," the member of the BJP's Parliamentary Board told reporters here.
"Such a situation exists today across the state, I condemn this government's style of functioning. So, condemning the policies of this government, we will hold a three-day protest, by gathering a large number of people, either in front of Vidhana Soudha or at Freedom Park. We will decide on the dates soon, probably ahead of the Belagavi Assembly session," he added.
Yediyurappa today vitsited R R Nagar Assembly constituency here, which is represented by BJP MLA Munirathna.
Accusing the ruling Congress of "revenge politics" in the constituency, he said developmental works that were under progress and for which funds were released have now been stopped and lie incomplete.
Highlighting the bad condition of roads in several areas, Yediyurappa urged the Congress government to focus on development keeping public interest in mind.
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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.
