Bengaluru, April 30: The non-resident Indians (NRIs) hailing from Karnataka want the Congress to retain power as the party's manifesto promises to make investing in the state "easy" for the diaspora, said Congress leader Sam Pitroda on Monday.

"The NRIs from the state are coming together to ensure that the Congress wins the state elections because they believe in the party's ideology. The Congress government in the state has promised in its manifesto to ease the process of NRIs' investments in the state," he told reporters here.

Pitroda, 75, a telecom expert, is the Chairman of the party's Overseas Congress Department based in Chicago in the US. He was also the Advisor to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

State capital Bengaluru, which is the country's tech hub, will thrive in the policies that will be brought in by the Congress, he said.

"As the world looks to India for innovative solutions, India looks to Karnataka and in turn Bengaluru."

Through its poll manifesto released on Friday by Congress President Rahul Gandhi ahead of the May 12 state elections, the party said it will make Information Technology (IT) an important driver of the state economy.

The ruling party said it will work towards increasing the IT industry's contribution from the current $60 billion to $300 billion.

Calling Karnataka an "investment hub" in the country, the Congress also said that it will work towards drawing new investments in order to create job opportunities for the people of the state.

The party has vowed to create a total of one crore jobs across the state in five years.

 

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Bengaluru, Dec 26: A Japanese national, Hiroshi Sasaki, who works in Bengaluru, lost Rs 35.5 lakh after being 'digitally arrested' by cyber fraudsters, police said, on Thursday.

 

The incident occurred between December 12 and 14, police added.

Sasaki, who lives in a flat near Dairy Circle, received a phone call on December 12. The caller was claiming to be from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. The caller informed him that his phone number would be blocked due to its unauthorised use.

To avoid the disconnection Sasaki was asked to dial a number.

Upon dialling the number, he was immediately connected to a WhatsApp call from someone claiming to be from the Cyber Crime wing of Mumbai Police. The caller informed Sasaki that he was involved in a money laundering case.

The fraudsters "digitally arrested" him and siphoned off Rs 35.5 lakh by having him make payments through various means, including RTGS.

He was also told that the money would be returned after the investigation was completed.

After realising that he had been duped, the victim approached the South East Cyber Crimes, Economics and Narcotics (CEN) police station and lodged a complaint.

'Digital arrest' is a new cyber fraud, where the fraudster poses as law enforcement agency officials from agencies like CBI, and customs and threatens people of arrest by making video calls.

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