K’taka police to conduct drive to identify foreign nationals staying illegally: Minister
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Thursday said he has directed the police department to conduct a statewide drive to identify Bangladeshi nationals or other foreign nationals staying illegally here.
He also said directions have been issued to identify chemical factories operating across Karnataka and to record their trade licences and activities as part of efforts to curb drug manufacturing.
"Yesterday, I issued directions to the department to conduct a statewide drive to identify Bangladeshis or other foreign nationals who are staying illegally," Parameshwara said in response to a question.
Speaking to reporters here, he said there were conflicting claims about the number of illegal Bangladeshi nationals in the state.
"Some are claiming there are 20 lakh illegal Bangladeshis. As per our records, around 370 people have been deported so far. Whatever the number may be, those staying illegally must be identified and action taken to deport them," he said.
Referring to the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in Bengaluru, the minister said its records also did not indicate a large number of foreign nationals illegally staying in the state.
"Even otherwise, if anyone is staying here illegally, it has to be identified. Therefore, directions have been given to conduct a drive," he added.
Parameshwara said that, similarly, to curb illegal drug factories, police have been instructed to identify chemical factories within city limits, inspect them, bring them on record and monitor their activities.
"These are important directions. Officials have already begun the exercise of recording where chemical factories are located, what they manufacture and whether they possess valid trade licences. All these details are being collected," he said.
He added that instructions had also been given to conduct inspections rigorously within the Bengaluru Police Commissionerate limits.
The minister further said that CM Siddaramaiah, who also holds the finance portfolio, has begun preparations for the state budget.
"The department has prepared a presentation outlining its demands, which will be submitted to the CM. Most importantly, we want recruitments to take place, new police stations to be opened, and other requirements to be addressed," he added.
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Explosive device kills 13, injures 38 on bus in southwestern Colombia as violence persists
Bogota (Colombia) (PTI): An explosive device killed 13 people travelling on a bus in southwestern Colombia on Saturday, an attack the country's army chief described as a “terrorist act" that also left at least 38 injured as violence linked to drug trafficking in the region escalates.
Octavio Guzman, the governor of the region of Cauca, said on X that the device was set off while the bus was travelling along the Panamerican Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. Five children were among the injured, Cauca Health Secretary Carolina Camargo told Noticias Caracol, a TV news program.
Gen. Hugo Lopez, commander of Colombia's Armed Forces, told a news conference that it was a “terrorist act" and blamed the network of a man known as “Ivan Mordisco” — one of Colombia's most wanted figures — and the Jaime Martínez faction. Both are dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that operate in the region.
Neither Ivan Mordisco nor the Jaime Martínez faction abide by the peace agreement signed with the state in 2016.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack on X.
“Those who carried out the attack and killed seven civilians — and wounded 17 others — in Cajibío — many of them Indigenous people — are terrorists, fascists, and drug traffickers,” he wrote.
The attack is the latest in a spate of explosions that have attempted to target public infrastructure. At least 26 incidents have taken place in the past two days in southwestern Colombia, which Lopez said have only affected civilians.
They included a shooting at a police station in the rural area of Jamundi, and an attack on a Civil Aviation radar facility in El Tambo, where authorities took down three explosives-laden drones earlier on Saturday. No one was hurt.
On Friday, two vehicles rigged with explosives were detonated near military units in Cali and Palmira, causing material damage.
The escalation of violence in that region — a territory contested by illegal armed groups linked to drug trafficking — prompted the mobilisation of high-ranking officials on Saturday. Led by Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez, the delegation that includes regional governors and local authorities, was meeting in Palmira when the deadly explosion occurred.
“These criminals seek to instil fear, but we will respond with firmness,” Sanchez said on X.
Meanwhile, Francisca Toro, governor of Valle del Cauca, has called upon the national government to provide “immediate support.” In a message on X, Toro called for a reinforcement of public security forces, enhanced intelligence operations and “decisive actions” against crime in the face of a “terrorist-level escalation.”
According to authorities, Cauca and Valle del Cauca serve as a critical hub for illicit activities of illegal armed groups vying for control over sea and river access routes leading to the port of Buenaventura — a key transit point used to traffic drugs to Central America and Europe.
The government has also offered a reward of more than 1 million dollars for information leading to the capture of “Marlon,” who is identified as the leader of the region's dissident group. On Friday, local authorities offered more than USD 14,000 for information leading to the identification and location of those behind the attacks in Cali and Palmira.
