IPS officer resigned due to corruption in Karnataka govt: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru, May 11: Congress leader and former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah has alleged that senior IPS officer P Ravindranath's purported resignation pointed to corruption in the state government.
Ravindranath in an official communication to the government on Tuesday reportedly said he was prematurely transferred after taking legal action against people involved in a fake caste certificate issue.
The officer was transferred as the Director General of Police (Training) on May 4.
Siddaramaiah said Ravindranath was assigned to investigate those who had availed fake certificates and take action against them.
"As per Ravindranath's statement, he has investigated a few influential leaders and hence he was transferred by the government," Siddaramaiah said, adding that this was not correct.
"M P Renukacharya (former minister and BJP leader) has taken fake 'Beda Jangama' caste certificate for his daughter. This was discussed even in the state assembly. He is not eligible to take Beda Jangama. There should be action against him," the Congress leader alleged in his media statement.
"Where there is corruption, we cannot expect stability and good governance. There is huge corruption in BJP government. How can we expect justice? the Leader of Opposition said.
Renukacharya, who is also Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's political secretary, has not responded to the allegations made by Siddaramaiah.
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Prime organiser of Messi event in Kolkata arrested over ‘mismanagement’ after stadium chaos
Kolkata (PTI): The police on Saturday arrested Satadru Datta, the prime organiser of the Lionel Messi football event at Salt Lake Stadium here, following widespread chaos at the venue, which prompted the Argentine World Cup-winning captain to leave the field early.
Taking suo motu cognisance of the stadium unrest, Datta was held by the Bidhannagar Police for “mismanagement” of the event from the Kolkata airport, where he had gone to see off Messi and his entourage on their way to Hyderabad.
"We are looking into whether there was any mismanagement from the organiser's side, which led to the chaos at the stadium. He has been detained, and the police have now brought the situation under control," West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar said at a press conference.
A senior police officer later confirmed that Dutta has been arrested. Till reports last received, the police were interrogating him and his manager inside one of the departure lounges of the airport.
The organiser has given in writing that he will refund the prices of tickets he sold to the disappointed spectators, Kumar said.
What was supposed to be a marquee football spectacle turned into widespread violence and disorder at the stadium after Messi’s brief and tightly ring-fenced appearance, his first at the venue since 2011, left large sections of the crowd frustrated, as they failed to catch a glimpse of their superstar despite having travelled from far and wide, paying hefty sums for tickets.
Police said they were also investigating how organisers allowed sale of bottled waters and beverages inside the stadium premises, which are banned items during such events.
Thousands of water bottles were used as missiles and lobbed inside the pitch by angry spectators, who also uprooted bucket seats from the gallery and used them as ammunition inside the field against the defending police and security personnel.
Spectators alleged that water bottles were being sold at a massive premium inside the stadium despite police disallowing such items from outside at the entry gates.
Police agreed there was an underlying tension in the galleries on account of Messi not showing his footballing skills on the field, which only got aggravated after a bunch of VIPs, including State Sports Minister Aroop Biswas and unidentified people, blocked the football icon’s view during the limited time he spent on the ground.
“We are on the job, and will ensure that whoever is responsible for what happened today at Salt Lake Stadium will be punished, and action will be taken against the authorities concerned,” said Jawed Shamim, ADG, Law and Order.
