No question of going back on resignations, will not attend Assembly: Karnataka rebel MLAs
Bengaluru, July 17: Hailing the Supreme Court direction on Karnataka political crisis, rebel Congress-JDS MLAs camping in Mumbai Wednesday said there was no question of going back on their resignations from the Assembly or attending the session.
"We are happy with the decision of the Honourable Supreme Court, we honour it," rebel Congress MLA B C Patil said in a video released to the media, a day ahead of the trial of strength in the Karnataka assembly.
Flanked by 11 other Congress-JD(S) MLAs who have quit, he said, "we all are together and whatever decision we have taken.. at any cost no question of going back (on resignations). We stand by our decision. No question of going to assembly."
The Supreme Court directed Wednesday that the 15 rebel Congress and JD(S) MLAs "ought not" to be compelled to take part in the proceedings of the Assembly, where Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is slated to face the floor test on July 18.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi also said the Speaker was free to decide on the resignations of the rebel MLAs within the time-frame decided by him.
The court further said the speaker's decision be put before it.
The apex court was hearing the plea of 15 rebel MLAs of Congress and JD(S) seeking direction to the Speaker to accept their resignations from the Assembly.
As many as 16 MLAs 13 from the Congress and three from JD(S) have resigned, while independent MLAs S Shankar and H Nagesh have withdrawn their support to the coalition government, keeping it on the edge.
The ruling coalition's strength in the House is 117 Congress 78, JD(S) 37, BSP 1, and nominated 1, besides the speaker.
With the support of the two independents, the opposition BJP has 107 MLAs in the 225-member House, including the nominated MLA and Speaker.
If the resignations of the 16 MLAs are accepted, the ruling coalition's tally will be plummet to 101, reducing the 13 month-old Kumaraswamy government to a minority.
According to official sources, nominated member too has a right to vote.
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Three company directors held in Rs 100-crore investment fraud in Kochi
Kochi (Kerala) (PTI): Police on Sunday arrested three directors of a firm accused of cheating hundreds of investors of over Rs 100 crore through a fake investment scheme linked to agricultural tourism here, officials said.
The accused were identified as Muraleedharan, Ashik Murali and Akhil Murali, all natives of Thrissur.
The arrests were made by the Kalamassery police in connection with a fraud involving ATCOS (Agri Tourism Cooperative Society), a firm headquartered at Pathadipalam here.
Police said the company had promised high returns by collecting investments from the public in the agricultural tourism sector, but allegedly cheated hundreds of people and fled with the money.
ATCOS was registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act and operated 13 branches across various districts in Kerala, besides a branch in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, officials said.
When investors failed to receive their promised returns or the invested amount, complaints were filed with the police.
Officials said around 54 cases have been registered against the firm in 32 police stations across the state, including 29 cases at the Kalamassery police station alone.
Following instructions from Kochi City Police Commissioner K S Mahesh Kumar, a special investigation team was formed under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Shehensha and Thrikkakara ACP Manoj Kumar.
The team traced the accused to an apartment in Amala Nagar in Thrissur, where they had been hiding after secretly renting the flat, officials said.
The bank accounts of the accused have been frozen, and steps have been initiated to trace their assets, officials said.
Police also conducted a raid at the company’s office at Pathadipalam and seized several documents related to the case.
The accused were produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Kalamassery, which remanded them to judicial custody and sent them to Kakkanad jail.
Police said they would seek the custody of the accused for further interrogation as the investigation continues.
