ED arrests Karnataka Congress MLA Veerendra 'Puppy' in illegal betting case; Rs 12 crore cash seized
Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday arrested Karnataka Congress MLA KC Veerendra, popularly known as ‘Puppy,’ in connection with an illegal online and offline betting racket.
During simultaneous raids across the country, the agency recovered Rs 12 crore in cash, including Rs 1 crore in foreign currency comprising US dollars, British pounds, UAE dirhams and euros. The searches also yielded gold jewellery worth Rs 6 crore, around 10 kg of silver articles, and four luxury vehicles.
Veerendra, the legislator from Chitradurga, was apprehended in Gangtok, Sikkim, and produced before a local court. The ED has secured a transit remand to bring him to Bengaluru for further investigation.
The crackdown, carried out on August 22, covered 31 locations across Gangtok, Chitradurga, Bengaluru, Hubballi, Jodhpur and Mumbai. In Goa, raids were conducted on casinos allegedly linked to the MLA, including Casino Gold, Ocean Rivers Casino, Casino Pride, Ocean 7 Casino and Big Daddy Casino.
According to the ED, Puppy was running online betting platforms such as “King567” and “Raja567.” His brother, KC Thippeswamy, is said to be operating business entities from Dubai — Diamond Softech, TRS Technologies and Prime9Technologies — to support the gaming operations.
Investigators also froze 17 bank accounts and two lockers, while property documents belonging to Puppy’s brother KC Nagaraj and nephew Pruthvi N Raj were seized. The ED stated that his associates were managing online betting operations from Dubai, and that Veerendra had recently travelled to Sikkim to explore leasing land for a casino.
Officials said the case involves “complex layering of cash and other funds” and further investigation is underway.
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PM to lay stone of north India's first semiconductor unit, open Namo Bharat corridor in UP next week
Lucknow (PTI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of north India's first semiconductor manufacturing unit in Gautam Buddh Nagar and inaugurate the Namo Bharat rapid rail corridor along with the Meerut Metro next week, marking major milestones in the state's infrastructure push.
Speaking in the Legislative Council during the Budget Session on Monday, Adityanath said Uttar Pradesh today has "excellent connectivity by water, land and air", and highlighted the prime minister's upcoming engagements in the state.
He said the foundation stone of the semiconductor unit in Gautam Buddh Nagar would be laid on February 21, terming it a significant step towards making the state a hub for high-technology manufacturing.
On February 22, Modi will inaugurate the remaining stretches of the 82-km Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Namo Bharat corridor, connecting Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi with Modipuram in Meerut, he said.
Alongside, the 23-km Meerut Metro corridor with 13 stations will also be launched.
According to officials, the remaining sections include a 5-km stretch in Delhi between Sarai Kale Khan and New Ashok Nagar, and a 21-km stretch from Meerut South to Modipuram.
The 82-km corridor comprises key stations such as Sarai Kale Khan, Anand Vihar, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Muradnagar, Modinagar South, Modinagar North and Meerut South, forming the backbone of the regional rapid transit system connecting major residential, commercial and industrial clusters.
Recalling the pre-2017 situation, Adityanath said it earlier took around three hours to travel from Meerut to Delhi and even then security was not guaranteed.
"Today, the distance between Delhi and Meerut can be covered in about 45 minutes through the 12-lane highway, and with the rapid rail, it will be further streamlined," he said, adding that law and order had significantly improved.
Adityanath said Uttar Pradesh accounts for 55 per cent of the country's total expressway network and has the largest railway network in India. The state currently has a network of 22 expressways, of which seven are operational, five are under construction and work on 10 others is underway, he added.
He said metro services are running on six corridors in the state, and the Meerut corridor will be inaugurated by the prime minister on February 22.
Highlighting inland waterways, the chief minister said the Varanasi-Haldia waterway has been developed, with terminals at Ramnagar, Chandauli, Mirzapur and Ghazipur being upgraded.
He also said that when his government assumed office, only two airports were fully operational in the state and two were partially functional.
"Today, there are 16 airports in Uttar Pradesh, including four international airports, while the fifth international airport at Jewar is ready," he said, adding that efforts are on to take the project forward this month with the prime minister's participation.
The country's first Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) hub is also being established at Jewar, he added, underlining the state's emergence as a major connectivity and logistics hub.
