Congress seeks dismissal of BJP govt in Karnataka over corruption charges
New Delhi, Mar 28: The Congress on Monday demanded immediate sacking of the BJP government in Karnataka over charges of corruption and said an independent probe by the high court should be ordered into the allegations.
The party also sought answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai on the issue, and questioned their silence on the corruption charges levelled against BJP leaders in the state.
"The stench of corruption has reached its zenith. The illegitimate BJP government plunders, loots and robs the state as the poor suffer in misery. People will purge the corrupt government," Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said on Twitter.
Dubbing the BJP government in the state as the "40 per cent commission Bommai government", he said, "The saga of 'BJP Corruption Files' is ministers/MLAs demanding 40 per cent bribes."
Surjewala claimed that "50,000 contractors are protesting" but there has been zero response to a July 6 letter to the prime minister. "Brazen loot of public money," he said.
"Will the prime minister answer - why no action on 6th July, 2021, letter qua taking of '40 per cent commission' by BJP ministers/MLAs? Why no response to Hindu Vahini leader's letter on bribes and 40 per cent commission? Why is CM Bommai 'mum'? All partners in the loot," Surjewal said in another tweet.
Congress member in Rajya Sabha Syed Nasir Hussain said the prime minister talks big on eradicating corruption and demands answers from the opposition in Parliament, but is silent on corruption charges levelled against his party's government in Karnataka.
"We demand that the BJP government in Karnataka be immediately sacked and an independent probe ordered by the Karnataka High Court," he told reporters outside Parliament.
"Our demand is that the prime minister should immediately intervene and set up an independent investigation after dismissing the Karnataka government," Hussain said.
"The Congress demands that the prime minister should open his mouth and tell the country, whether Karnataka's corrupt government is going to be punished or not? We also demand the sacking of the BJP government and also demand that people, who are involved in the corruption, action should be taken against them, otherwise, the whole country will look at it," Rajya Sabha MP L Hanumanthaiah told reporters.
The Karnataka Congress leaders also claimed that some BJP leaders have also been alleging that there is corruption in award of contracts.
The contractors association in Karnataka has also alleged that funds allocated for development works were taken away by ministers and MLAs as bribes.
Contractors in Karnataka have also announced that they will stage a massive protest in April last week against this malpractice.
Will the PM answer -
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) March 28, 2022
1. Why no action on 6th July, 2021 letter qua taking of “40% Commission” by BJP Ministers/MLA’s?
2. Why no response to Hindu Vahini Leader’s letter on bribes & 40% Commission?
3. Why is CM Bommai “mum”?
All partners in the loot?#40PercentCommissionGovt pic.twitter.com/y8CTRB2ud5
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
