Dharmasthala: Mandya YouTuber alleges paid campaign against Dharmasthala, seeks SIT probe
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Mandya: A local YouTuber has alleged that some content creators were offered money to produce videos targeting Dharmasthala under the guise of campaigns seeking justice for Sowjanya.
According to a report by Deccan Herald, Sumanth, a resident of Thoppanahalli in Maddur taluk, claimed he too was approached with such an offer but refused. “A conspiracy was hatched two years ago. YouTubers were funded to promote it. I was offered money as well, but I rejected it,” he said. Sumanth demanded a Special Investigation Team (SIT) inquiry into those “luring YouTubers with money” to post defamatory content.
The remarks come against the backdrop of recent cases involving YouTubers and activists over their comments on the Dharmasthala issue.
Meanwhile, Srirangapatna MLA Ramesh Bandisiddegowda praised the state government’s handling of the matter. He said the SIT probe had “upheld the glory and tradition” of the kshetra and protected the reputation of Lord Manjunatha and Annappa Swamy.
“The government has acted rightly. If the SIT probe had not been ordered, critics would have accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of being ‘secularist’ and targeted Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar despite his faith,” the MLA said in the report by DH, dismissing the opposition’s demand to hand the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
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41 lakh illicit liquor seized, 1.84 lakh arrested in major drive: K'taka Minister tells Assembly
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The Karnataka Excise Department has conducted a statewide crackdown on illegal liquor trade over the last two years, resulting in arrests and seizures of alcohol, Karnataka Excise Minister R B Timmapur said on Tuesday.
As many as 1,09,017 people were arrested, and seizures included 13.66 lakh litres of liquor and 27.19 lakh litres of beer, he said in a written reply to a starred question by Harihar BJP MLA B P Harish in the Karnataka Assembly.
The Minister said the enforcement drive covered the financial year 2023–24, 2024–25 up to June, and 2025–26 from July to October, targeting unauthorised liquor manufacture, storage, sale and transportation across the State.
"During this period, statewide enforcement drives resulted in a total of 1,84,570 raids against illegal liquor sales,” Timmapur said.
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He noted that 9,179 non-bailable cases and 91,968 bailable and compoundable cases under Section 15(A) of the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, were registered during the same period.
According to him, there have been no reports indicating that students have become addicted to alcohol due to illegal liquor sales.
The sale of alcohol to minors is strictly prohibited under the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, and the department has issued periodic instructions to initiate legal action against violators, with strict enforcement and investigation measures in place, the Minister said.
Excise officials are carrying out regular road and night patrols, collecting intelligence, monitoring habitual offenders and conducting raids to identify illicit distillation units, unauthorised liquor outlets and spurious liquor manufacturing centres, he said, adding the department is also enforcing the law to prevent the production, storage, sale and transport of spurious, non-duty-paid and unauthorised liquor.
Regular patrols are being conducted on national and state highways, with suspicious vehicles being subjected to checks.
At the district level, standing committee meetings are held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioners, and joint operations are carried out with the police and forest departments to curb excise-related offences.
The department is also conducting awareness programmes through Gram Sabhas and in schools and colleges to educate the public and students about the physical, mental and social health hazards associated with alcohol addiction and substance abuse, Timmapur added.
