June 24: 3,979 new COVID-19 cases, 138 deaths in Karnataka
Dakshina Kannada logs 498 positive Covid-19 cases, 15 deaths
Bengaluru, Jun 24: Karnataka has reported 3,979 new cases of COVID-19 and 138 deaths, taking the total number of infections to 28.23 lakh and toll to 34,425, the health department said on Thursday.
The day also saw 9,768 discharges, continuing to outnumber the fresh cases, taking the total number of recoveries in the state so far to 26,78,473.
Out of 3,979 new cases reported, 969 were from Bengaluru Urban, as the city saw 3,176 discharges and 14 deaths.
Total number of active cases in the state is at 1,10,523.
While the positivity rate for the day stood at 2.46 per cent, case fatality rate (CFR) was at 3.46 per cent.
Out of 138 deaths reported on Thursday, 22 were from Mysuru, Dakshina Kannada 15, Bengaluru Urban 14, Ballari and Dharwad 10, Hassan 9, followed by others.
Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Bengaluru Urban accounted for 969, Dakshina Kannada 498, Mysuru 404, Hassan 336, followed by others.
Bengaluru Urban district tops the list of positive cases, with a total of 12,09,073, followed by Mysuru 1,64,018 and Tumakuru 1,14,265.
Cumulatively a total of 3.33 crore samples have been tested in the state so far, out of which 1,61,287 were tested on Thursday alone.
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Man booked for duping firm of Rs 6 cr by posing as Infosys CSR official
Bengaluru (PTI): An FIR has been registered against a man and his accomplices for allegedly cheating a firm of Rs 6 crore by falsely claiming to be associated with an IT company and promising to facilitate CSR funds for its projects, police said on Friday.
The crime is said to have taken place between September 1, 2025 and March 20, 2026, and after consultation with legal experts the company decided to file a complaint at the Devanahalli police station here, they said.
The FIR was registered on March 30 following a complaint by Mysore Mercantile Company, alleging that a person named Gagan N Deep approached them, posing as the Regional Head (CSR) at Infosys Ltd, they said.
According to the FIR, Deep claimed he reported to senior officials - Harsh J, Senior Regional Manager - Infrastructure, Facilities Operation, Public Relations and CSR Works, and Niladri Prasad Mishra, Senior Vice President and Head - Global Infrastructure and Climate Action.
The FIR alleged that the accused expressed interest in the activities of their associated trust, Heggunje Rajeeva Shetty Charitable Trust, Bangalore, and assured facilitation of CSR funds from Infosys Ltd.
It further stated that the accused sent a team of four to five individuals representing Infosys, including persons identified as Chethan and Tejas, to Udupi, Mangaluru and other places to verify the trust’s activities.
According to the complaint, the accused subsequently induced the complainant to pay an Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) to alleged regular vendors of Infosys as a condition for approval of CSR grants.
The complainant stated that a total amount of Rs 6 crore was paid, including Rs 1.75 crore through demand drafts in favour of Anitha Ventures and Rs 3.75 crore through demand drafts in favour of ANS Engineerings, apart from an additional cash payment of Rs 30 lakh allegedly handed over to the accused through his driver near Nandi Upachar Hotel in Devanahalli, as per his instructions.
The FIR further alleged that the accused issued a purported sanction letter dated October 21, 2025, allegedly from Infosys bearing the signature of Mishra, and executed a grant agreement dated January 8, 2026 between Infosys and the charitable trust for the construction of more than 855 houses across Karnataka with a total grant of Rs 179 crore.
Another grant agreement dated January 13, 2026 was also executed for construction of primary health care centres across the state with a total grant of Rs 178 crore, it stated.
However, the complainant later suspected that the representations made by the accused were false, the documents were fabricated, and the entire transaction was fraudulent in nature, as the accused dishonestly induced them to part with substantial amounts under the pretext of EMD for CSR grants.
"Despite repeated follow-ups neither has any grant materialised nor have the amounts been returned, and the accused is now unresponsive and deliberately avoiding communication," the FIR added.
A case has been registered under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Section 316(2) (criminal breach of trust), Section 319(2) (cheating by personation), Section 336(3) (forgery for the purpose of cheating), police said, adding that further investigation into the matter is underway.
Efforts are being made to nab the suspects in the case, they added.
