Karnataka to examine 2012 panel report for crackdown on drug menace
Bengaluru: As the police continue their crackdown against drug and substance abuse in the state, the Karnataka government has decided to examine an eight-year-old legislative committee report on tackling the menace.
Home Minister Basavarj Bommai has asked a top bureaucrat to examine the report tabled in 2012 by the assembly's petitions committee, headed by the then Deputy Speaker N Yogish Bhat.
"The report that was given by Yogish Bhat, I have asked the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) to examine it thoroughly. The contents of the report, suggestions made in it to control drugs- it will be thoroughly examined and measures that can be implemented from it, will be looked into," Bommai said.
Speaking to reporters, he said efforts were on to control drug menace, including controlling it scientifically, using technology.
"It is not only a menace in Karnataka, but across the country, so all necessary efforts will be made to control it from all angles, and our crackdown on drugs will continue," he added.
The 2012 committee report focused on drug menace in educational institutions and students falling prey to it besides nexus between the drug mafia and prostitution racket.
With the state going to the assembly polls in 2013 and the new government taking over, the report was forgotten.
The minister said from the ongoing operation it was clear that the drugs were coming into Karnataka from other states and countries.
Bommai said he has held a meeting via video conference with SPs of all the districts, especially border ones, regarding the measures being taken and to be taken.
The meeting also discussed about drugs coming from foreign countries and from cities like Mumbai and Delhi though various modes which needed to be controlled and investigated.
"Drug supplies through cargo, courier, post, dark web need to be completely controlled," the minister said.
The recent arrests made by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had unearthed alleged links of drug peddlers with Kannada actors and musicians, which the CCB police are currently investigating, and it has led to more arrests.
Asked about the arrest of Kannada actress Ragini Dwivedi and high-end party planner Viren Khanna, the minister said prima-facie it appeared that Khanna was also a kingpin and detailed investigation was on.
To a question about Tourism Minister CT Ravi's statement on pressure being exerted on the police, Bommai said, "What he (Ravi) said is right he has said that as influential people are involved naturally there may be such attempts. He has not said about any specific pressure."
The minister said there was no question of bowing down to any pressure and police have been given free hand to take action in accordance with law.
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NEET-UG: 2 more held, role of several NTA officers under scanner; CBI focussing on source of leak
New Delhi (PTI): The CBI has arrested two more persons in connection with the NEET (UG) paper-leak case, with the role of several officers of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and other organisations, who had access to the printing press where the papers were printed, coming under the scanner, officials said on Thursday.
The agency has arrested Dhananjay Lokhanda from Ahilyanagar and Manisha Waghmare from Pune and conducted searches at 14 locations across the country in the last 24 hours, they said.
The CBI is focussing on identifying the source of the leak that has caused massive disappointment to lakhs of aspirants eyeing a seat in undergraduate medical courses, which are allotted after the highly-competitive examination, the officials said.
According to the CBI probe so far, the involvement of public servants in the leak cannot be ruled out.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested three individuals from Jaipur -- Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal and Dinesh Biwal -- along with Yash Yadav from Gurugram and Shubham Khairnar from Nashik.
Khairnar was in touch with Yadav and informed him in April that Mangilal Biwal was ready to pay Rs 10-12 lakh for arranging leaked NEET (UG) 2026 questions for his younger son.
Khairnar allegedly provided 500 to 600 questions from the leaked paper to Yadav, the officials said, adding that the questions could have helped score enough marks to get a seat in a reputed medical college.
Mangilal Biwal allegedly procured the paper from Yadav, who was known to his elder son Vikas Biwal from an NEET coaching in Rajasthan's Sikar. The deal between Mangilal Biwal and Yadav was for Rs 10 lakh, if 150 questions from the question bank matched with those in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) paper, the officials said.
Mangilal Biwal shared the paper with his son and further distributed it among relatives.
Yadav also told Vikas Biwal to find additional candidates for the questions to recover some of the money that he had spent on getting those, the officials said.
An analysis of digital devices has given the agency incriminating chats, leaked question papers and other digital evidence. The CBI will subject the devices to a forensic examination to get the deleted data, the officials said.
The federal agency has registered an FIR and formed teams to probe the alleged NEET (UG) paper leak that resulted in the cancellation of the exam held on May 3.
The NEET (UG) 2026 was conducted across 551 Indian cities and at 14 overseas centres. Nearly 23 lakh candidates had registered for the test, which was administered by the NTA at centres across the country.
According to the NTA, information regarding alleged malpractice was received on the evening of May 7, four days after the examination was held. The NTA said the inputs were escalated to central agencies the following morning for "independent verification and necessary action".
The Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group (SOG) has claimed that a "guess paper" for chemistry, allegedly circulated among students ahead of the examination, had approximately 410 questions, including roughly 120 that appeared in the test.
