Following objections, Karnataka to continue with 21 years as minimum age to buy liquor
Bengaluru, Jan 18: Following objections with respect to the draft rules on lowering the age limit for purchase of liquor in Karnataka to 18 years, the state government on Wednesday said it has decided to withdraw the proposed amendment and stick to 21 years as the threshold.
The Karnataka Excise Department has cited objections raised by public, associations and media for the decision.
Section 36(1)(g) of the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, prohibits sale of liquor to persons under the age of 18 years. However, as per Rule 10(1)(e) of the Karnataka Excise (General Conditions of Licences) Rules, 1967, sale of liquor to persons below the age of 21 is prohibited, the department said in a release.
In order to remove this contradiction relating to age in the Act and the rules, the department said: "Draft notification dated January 9 has been published to amend the rule proposing to substitute the words 'eighteen years' for the words 'twenty-one years', as per the recommendations of the High Level Committee constituted for effective implementation, to identify and eliminate redundant aspects in the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965 and Rules framed thereunder."
A period of 30 days was given for objections or suggestions from persons likely to be affected with respect to the said draft rules.
"In consideration to the objections raised by public, associations and media with respect to the said draft rules lowering the age limit from 21 years to 18 years...the draft rules published to amend Rule 10 (1)(e) of the Karnataka Excise (General Conditions of Licences) Rules, 1967 and substitute the words eighteen years for the words twenty-one years, has been withdrawn with immediate effect," the release said.
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Interstate cyber-fraud racket busted in UP's Baghpat, 7 held
Baghpat (PTI): An interstate cyber-fraud racket involved in duping people on the pretext of providing bank jobs was busted by police in this Uttar Pradesh district on Sunday with the arrest of seven people, including two women, officials said.
Police said the accused were running a fake call centre and luring job seekers from several states by issuing forged appointment letters and fabricated agreements in the name of bank recruitment, collecting large sums of money in return.
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Twelve mobile phones, two laptops, two SIM cards on fake names, several forged appointment letters and agreements, 15 bank passbooks, two chequebooks, UPI QR codes, ATM cards and 11 other cards were seized from the possession of the accused, police said, adding that the data of around 6,450 people from different states was found stored in the laptops.
According to the officials, the gang misused information obtained from online platforms, such as OLX and job-related websites, to target unsuspecting victims.
The racket was uncovered following complaints received on the Union home ministry's "Pratibimb" portal and subsequent technical surveillance.
Investigations revealed at least 20 complaints from various states, including Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Assam and Meghalaya.
The arrested accused were identified as Mohit Kumar, Puneet Kumar, Vardaan, Anuj Kumar and Akshay, besides the two women.
They were arrested at around 11:30 am from under the Eastern Peripheral Expressway in the Kotwali Baghpat area.
A case has been registered at the cyber crime police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and section 66D of the Information Technology Act, police said.
