Curb Instagram influencers, fake therapists: Karnataka HC to govt
Bengaluru, Oct 9: The Karnataka High Court has advised the government to come up with some regulatory measures to check the growth of pseudo-therapists and 'Instagram influencers'. The court cautioned that many people were falling prey to such therapists online.
While rejecting a petition of one such 'influencer' who sought to quash a criminal case against her, the High Court had said in a September 2 judgement: Therapists of this kind are many on the social media. In reality, they are not bound by ethics or not regulated by norms. Cases of this nature have begun to emerge in large proportion wherein people wanting to get therapy fall prey to pseudo-therapists."
The court said, "In public domain, there is a huge number of such therapists. On the social media, therapists pose as if they are in the field of therapy. It is also in public domain that they are pseudo-therapists who are "Instagram influencers." Justice M Nagaprasanna was hearing a criminal petition by Sanjana Fernandes aka Raveera, a 28-year-old resident of Bengaluru. A complaint was filed against her by Shankar Ganesh PJ.
The case is now pending before a Magistrate Court in which she has been accused of offences of cheating under the Indian Penal Code and various sections of the Information Technology Act. According to the prosecution, Raveera, an IT professional, came in contact with the accused on a dating app. After realising that Shankar Ganesh was under stress, she directed him to her Instagram page 'Positive For A 360 Life". She claimed to be a wellness therapist. After attending her online classes during the Covid-19 pandemic, the complainant transferred around Rs 3.15 lakh to her. Ganesh wanted to meet the therapist personally and started sending her messages. He was eventually blocked by her.
He later found out that she had 15 profiles on Instagram and other social media platforms. So he filed a complaint of cheating against her. Raveera, in her petition before the High Court, contended that Ganesh was sending her lewd messages and dirty requests and when she resisted, a false complaint was filed against her.
The court noted that the claims made by the accused about the therapy were unfounded. "It is her own generated web page, without any qualification. Therefore, it is a case wherein the petitioner without any substance or qualification lured customers into the web of wellness therapy through the web page." About her claims, the court noted that the "chats will reveal that the petitioner had initially represented herself as a wellness therapist and that her team will take care of the complainant.
Therefore, without having any team or any qualification whatsoever, it was the web page that was created to lure the complainant and the like. It is, therefore, the offence of cheating comes clearly made out against the petitioner."
The court said she had filed a case against Ganesh for the lewd messages which was also pending.
Dismissing her petition, the High Court, in its judgement on September 2, said, "I do not find any warrant to interfere with the case on hand as the petitioner has not demonstrated by production of such unimpeachable evidence of sterling character for this court to interfere or interject the proceedings."
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Police making efforts to locate, recover weapons disposed of by Maoists: Karnataka Home Minister
Bengaluru, Jan 10: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Friday said that six surrendered Maoists have not handed over their weapons, and the police are working to locate and recover them from the forest where they are believed to have been disposed of.
Noting that one Maoist, expelled from the surrendered group, is still at large and efforts are underway to trace him, he said there is no one else involved in Naxal activities in the state. He added that any individuals coming from other states will be closely monitored.
A group of six Maoists surrendered to the government in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at his home office, ‘Krishna,’ on Wednesday evening.
The group includes four individuals from Karnataka: Mundagaru Latha from Sringeri, Vanajakshi Balehole from Kalasa, Sundari Kutluru from Dakshina Kannada, and Mareppa Aroli from Raichur. The other two are Vasantha K from Vellore in Tamil Nadu and N Jeesha from Wayanad in Kerala.
"We need to search for the weapons. It is not yet known where they were disposed of in the forest, but efforts are underway in that direction," Parameshwara told reporters in response to a question.
Addressing the BJP's allegation that the government prioritised rehabilitation for Maoists over recovering their weapons, he said, "They keep making such claims. The government will do its job. We may need to gather information from the Maoists about where the weapons were hidden and seek their assistance. There are procedures, and they will be followed."
The BJP has also been in government, and they are aware of this. It was the same police department during their tenure, he added.
The six surrendered Maoists will be rehabilitated under categories 'A' and 'B' of the Naxal Surrender Policy, Karnataka 2024, and will each receive Rs 3 lakh.
In response to a question about reports that another Maoist, Ravindra, is still at large, the Home Minister said, "According to the information we have, this group had expelled him, but the reasons are not yet known. Efforts are underway to trace him, and he is believed to be in the Chikkamagaluru region."
Regarding the surrendered Maoists, the Home Minister stated that they were the last active Maoists in the state.
He added, "If anyone comes from other states, it will be closely monitored. There is a possibility of individuals coming from Odisha or Kerala, and we will remain vigilant. The government is making efforts to discourage Naxalism. According to our information, no one else is currently involved in such activities in the state."
The surrender followed the killing of Maoist leader Vikram Gowda in an encounter with the Anti-Naxal Force at Peetabailu village in Hebri, Udupi district, on November 18, 2024.
When asked about Vikram Gowda's family seeking compensation in light of the package being provided to surrendered Maoists, Parameshwara said, "It will be verified. Both cases are different."
