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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Pak police registers case against unidentified gunmen for opening fire on LeT co-founder
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Lahore (PTI): Pakistan's Punjab Police on Friday registered a case against unidentified gunmen for opening fire on Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) co-founder Amir Hamza, who suffered bullet injuries in the attack in Lahore.
On Thursday, two unidentified gunmen riding on a bike opened fire on the vehicle of the private TV channel 24NewsHD TV, owned by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, on Peco Road in Lahore near the TV channel's office.
In the attack, Hamza suffered bullet injuries.
"The FIR has been registered against unidentified gunmen, but it is sealed forthwith," a senior police officer told PTI.
He said the intelligence agencies have taken over this case from the police, and they are currently investigating the matter.
The channel's religious programme host Justice (retd.) Nazir Ahmed Ghazi and Hamza were in the vehicle when it was attacked. Hamza was shifted to a hospital for treatment.
Punjab police on Friday said that "upon receiving information about the incident, the SSP Operations immediately reached the scene and a high alert was imposed in the area. SSP Operations Tauqeer Naeem also met the affected individuals. Thankfully, all present in the vehicle remained safe during the firing."
It further said senior police officers of the Township and Chung, along with a heavy police contingent, were present at the scene.
"Police collected evidence from the site and initiated an investigation. Efforts to arrest the suspects are underway using CCTV footage and geo-fencing techniques. Search and sweep operations are being conducted at various locations, with scrutiny of suspicious individuals ongoing," police said.
It added that those involved in the incident will be traced and arrested soon.
The police sources said that Hamza has been shifted to his residence in Jauhar Town, Lahore, where police and agency personnel met him.
The leadership of the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), a political front of Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's banned Jamat-ud-Dawah (JuD), including Hafiz Saeed's son Hafiz Talha Saeed, also called on him.
TV host retired Justice Ghazi, who remained unhurt in the attack, remained a legal counsel for Hafiz Saeed, they said.
The PMML has strongly condemned the attack on Hamza and demanded that those involved in the incident be arrested immediately.
Hamza is regarded as LeT's second most important leader after its chief Hafiz Saeed, who has been in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail since 2019 after getting convicted for several years in terror financing cases.
Hamza has been designated as a terrorist by the US. In the past, he served as the head of LeT's "special campaigns" department.
In 2018, Hamza formed a fundraising group for the LeT following a ban on the JuD and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation by the Pakistani government.
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