Bengaluru: Booker win sparks surge in demand for Banu Mushtaq’s Heart Lamp, Kannada original
Bengaluru: Following veteran Kannada writer Banu Mushtaq’s historic win at the International Booker Prize for her short story collection Heart Lamp: Selected Stories (translated into English by Deepa Bhasthi), bookstores across Bengaluru are witnessing a sharp rise in demand for both the English translation and the original Kannada edition.
According to Deccan Herald, The Bookworm on Church Street sold over 70 copies of the book on Wednesday alone. “We have also received orders from cities like Nagpur, Mumbai, Pune, and Delhi,” said Krishna Gowda, proprietor of Bookworm.
At Beetle Book Shop in Vijayanagar, Dhananjay began receiving customer inquiries as early as 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday. With a largely Kannada-reading customer base, the demand for the original Kannada version has outpaced the English translation. The shop sold over fifty copies and is receiving orders from across India, including Hyderabad, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, as well as from the United States.
“The Kannada book is priced at Rs 750, if it was less than Rs 300, which is usually the price of most Kannada books, the sales would have been much higher,” DH quoted Dhananjay as saying. Additionally, many new readers unfamiliar with Kannada literature are now placing orders.
At the iconic Blossoms Book House on Church Street, sales spiked soon after the book was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, who are also receiving inquiries about the Kannada version as well.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah congratulated Banu Mushtaq on her international recognition. “This is a time to celebrate Kannada, Kannadigas and Karnataka. I wish she would continue to write meaningfully for many more years and spread the vibe of Kannada to the world,” the CM posted on X.
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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.
