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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Maoist carrying bounty of Rs 15 lakh among four killed in gunfight with security forces in J’khand
Hazaribag (PTI): Four Maoists, including one carrying a reward of Rs 15 lakh on his head, were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Jharkhand's Hazaribag district on Friday, police officials said.
The encounter took place in the Khapia forest area within the Keredari police station limits, following a tip-off.
"Four Maoists were killed in a gunfight with joint forces in 'Operation KotiNeer'. The Maoists killed have been identified as regional committee member Sahdeo Maho, carrying a reward of Rs 15 lakh, Ranjit Ganjhu, Zonal committee member, carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakh," IG, CRPF, Saket Kumar Singh told mediapersons.
The remaining two are Area Commander Budhan Karmali, carrying a reward of Rs one lakh and sub-zonal committee member Natasha, a woman who hailed from Gadchiroli in Maharashtra.
SDPO of Barkagaon, Pawan Kumar, said that no security personnel were injured in the operation.
The Maoists killed were wanted in about 80 cases.
With the encounter, only 57 Maoists are left in the state, the IG said.
A number of arms were also recovered during the operation including two AK 47 and one INSAS rifles.
The development comes close on the heels of a fierce exchange of fire between a Maoist squad headed by Misir Besra, who carries a bounty of Rs 1 crore, and police personnel on April 15 in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum. Four security personnel were injured in the encounter.
The Centre has already informed the state governments that there are no Naxal violence-affected districts in the country, more than five decades since Left Wing Extremism (LWE) originated in India.
The declaration followed a high-level security review held earlier this month by the Ministry of Home Affairs under the mandated 'National Policy and Action Plan to Address Left Wing Extremism' formulated in 2015.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah informed Parliament on March 30 that India was free from Maoists.
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