BY Vijayendra demands judicial probe into Ballari maternal deaths case
Bengaluru: BJP state president and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra criticized the Congress-led Karnataka government for its handling of the Ballari maternal death tragedy, which resulted in the deaths of seven pregnant women and a child at the Ballari Government Medical College Hospital.
Speaking to media representatives at the BJP state office, Jagannath Bhavan, Vijayendra called for a judicial inquiry into the incident and demanded adequate compensation for the families of the deceased. He accused the state government of gross negligence, alleging that IV glucose purchased from a blacklisted company led to the fatalities.
Vijayendra also criticized Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao and Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil, pointing out their failure to visit the affected hospital. He announced that BJP leaders Narayanaswamy and N. Ravikumar would approach the Lokayukta to demand accountability for the incident.
“The state government has forgotten its responsibilities,” he remarked, adding that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, instead of addressing pressing issues, attended the Congress' Janakalyana Conference in Hassan.
Additionally, Vijayendra also highlighted the distress faced by farmers in the Kalyana Karnataka region. He reported significant crop losses in Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgiri, and Raichur districts, where farmers and paddy cultivators have suffered due to disease and unfavorable conditions.
“In Kalaburagi district alone, 6 to 7 lakh acres of paddy are cultivated annually, but this year, 80% of the crop has been destroyed by disease. Farmers are receiving only 1.5 to 2 quintals of yield per acre instead of the usual six to seven quintals,” he said.
He urged the state government to conduct a thorough survey to assess the damage and provide necessary compensation to the affected farmers.
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Mule bank accounts frozen in crackdown on cyber fraudsters in Karnataka, 68 held
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka State Cyber Command has arrested 68 people as part of a statewide drive against mule bank accounts and “mule herders” involved in cyber fraud, officials said on Friday.
The special operations, which have been continuing since last week across Karnataka, targeted networks engaged in aggregating and selling mule bank accounts used for cyber crimes.
The arrests were made between December 2025 and February 2026, police said in an updated report.
“The Karnataka Cyber Command has conducted statewide special operations against Mule accounts and mule herders across Karnataka. The special drive has continued since last week and this is an updated report,” the department said in a statement.
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Police said the investigation identified a network of “mule herders” — individuals who aggregate and misuse mule bank accounts — who were retailing and selling such accounts to cyber criminals.
A total of 68 key accused and suspects have been arrested during the period.
According to the statement, mule herders had collected personal information and documents from unsuspecting laypersons and opened multiple bank accounts in the names of their relatives.
“These accounts were operated in a business-like manner,” it added.
As part of the crackdown, police registered 60 cases and identified 869 mule accounts across the state. As many as 8,788 complaints were registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) against the identified mule accounts.
The total money involved in all NCRP-linked crimes stood at Rs 85.05 crore, of which Rs 13.43 crore has been put on hold, the Cyber Command said.
During the drive, police obtained 32 search warrants and conducted 35 searches. In the searches, 35 ATM cards, 37 passbooks, 80 mobile phones, 28 cheque books and 22 SIM cards were seized, along with other incriminating materials, officials said. Pronab Mohanty, the Director General of Police (Karnataka State Cyber Command) supervised the special drive, police added.
