Lakhs of rupees cheated in the name of Kodagu district minister
Special teams formed to trace cheaters
Madikeri, November 13: The district police have formed a special squad to trace the accused who cheated a person of Rs 1 lakh in the name of Tourism and District Minister S.R. Mahesh, and started investigation.
The incident came to light very late. A Bengaluru-based person was cheated by a gang of three persons. A case was registered at Madikeri town police station and the special team intensified the investigation. Madikeri CPI Anup Madappa said that the team would nab the accused within a couple of days.
About incident
Bengaluru Banashankari resident Linge Gowda was basically from Maddur village and he has 7 acres of land in Kushalnagar. He has submitted an application to the deputy commissioner’s office for conversion of the land and the files were ready for the conversion.
In view of this, Linge Gowda had arrived at Kushalnagar on November 3 to get the records and stayed there. On November 4, when came to the DC office, a person enquired him about his purpose. When Linge Gowda explained as to why he has come to DC office, the stranger introduced himself as case worker Girish and he has prepared all his land conversion documents and asked him to pay Rs 1 lakh fee for land conversion and additional Rs 1000 for other expenses.
The stranger called another person over phone and handed over the mobile to Linge Gowda saying that he was the personal secretary to District Minister S.R. Mahesh. From other end, the person introduced himself as the personal assistant of the Minister and said all his land conversion documents were ready. Later, that person asked Linge Gowda to speak to Minister S.R. Mahesh over phone and handed over the phone to someone who claimed himself as S.R. Mahesh and said all documents were ready and take them from Girish and disconnected the phone call.
Believing this drama, Linge Gowda admitted that he has only Rs 4,000 cash in hand and he has Rs 47,000 in bank account. Later, he took that stranger to the bank. For the remaining Rs 50,000, Linge Gowda called his friend and asked him to transfer Rs 50,000 to his account. Later, he has drawn Rs 97,000 from a private bank at Kodava Samaj commercial complex and gave total Rs 1,01,000 to the stranger. After getting the amount, the stranger informed Linge Gowda that he would go to the taluk office to pay the fee and will come back to DC office where you can get the documents. But when Linge Gowda waited for the stranger at the DC office, he did not turn up. When he called him over the phone, the phone was switched off. Later, he realized that he was cheated.
Later, he lodged a complaint at the city police station. The police suddenly checked the CCTV camera footage at the DC office and bank. Now, the special team intensified the investigation. Now, the CPI said that the police would arrest the cheaters soon.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
