Bandh against Shivakumar's arrest hits life in Ramanagara
Bengaluru, Sep 5: Normal life was hit in parts of neighbouring Ramanagara district on Thursday following a bandh called to protest the arrest of senior Karnataka Congress leader D K Shivakumar by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case.
Sporadic protests were reported in places, including Channapattanna and Ramanagara, since morning, while schools and colleges remained shut in the district, under which Shivakumar's assembly segment Kanakapura is located, police said.
Shops and business establishments by and large were closed in response to the bandh called by the local unit of the Congress and supported by its alliance partner in the previous coalition government - the JD(S).
Bandh supporters staged demonstrations and attempted to block roads at some places, but were dispersed by police as the protests continued for the third day.
With no buses plying in Kanakapura, office goers were seen stranded while in other parts of the district some vehicular movement was seen during the early hours.
Police said they have made elaborate security arrangements across the district to avoid any untoward incident.
A Delhi court on Wednesday evening had remanded the former Minister, who was arrested by the ED in New Delhi on Tuesday, to the agency's custody till September 13.
The Congress, which has dubbed the ED action as political vendetta, had staged protests in several parts of Karnataka on Tuesday night and on Wednesday against the arrest of Shivakumar, a key troubleshooter of the party, in connection with alleged tax evasion and hawala transactions worth crores.
Several top state leaders, including former chief ministers Siddaramaiah and H D Kumaraswamy (JDS), have condemned the arrest of Shivakumar.
Quoting reports he received, state Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai had on Wednesday said five to six buses were pelted with stones and attempts made to torch one bus each in Kanakapura and Bengaluru.
Most parts of Ramanagara district come under Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha constituency represented by Shivakumar's brother D K Suresh.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
