Dharwad: Police officer who had sought VRS after facing CM's anger, attends duty
Dharwad (Karnataka), Jul 3 (PTI): Additional Superintendent of Police Narayan Baramani, who had sought voluntary retirement from service (VRS), after facing the Chief Minister's anger during a Congress rally in April, on Thursday said he was attending to his duty.
He said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Home Minister G Parameshwara, and higher officials spoke to him.
He did not comment on the episode and the status of his VRS, citing that he is in a disciplined department.
"As I'm in a disciplined department, I have shared my feelings with my higher officials. The Chief Minister, Home Minister, and higher officials have spoken to me in this regard. I'm attending duty," Baramani told reporters.
Siddaramaiah, on April 28, had lost his cool and made a gesture by raising his hand at a police officer on the stage, as a group of women, allegedly BJP workers, tried to disrupt his speech during a rally in Belagavi.
As a group of women who were amidst the large crowd showed a black flag and shouted slogans during his speech, visibly upset Siddaramaiah summoned the Additional SP rank officer onto the stage. He addressed him in singular and said, "Come here, who is the SP? What are you doing?".
The CM was then seen making a gesture by raising his hand at the officer out of frustration, but withdrew it immediately, and subsequently instructed him to remove the people who were creating a disturbance.
"Having been publicly insulted and humiliated by the behavior of the Chief Minister on a public platform for a mistake I did not commit, I have no other option but to seek voluntary retirement," Baramani's purported letter to the Home Department said.
Sharing the contents of the letter, Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka, in a post on 'X', on Thursday, alleged that the morale of the police department has been damaged by the Congress government.
"Whether the incident in which you raised your hand at Additional SP Narayan Baramani on a public platform was due to your arrogance of power or frustration at leading a failed government, or with a feeling that you will have to relinquish power soon, I will leave that to your introspection," he told Siddaramaiah.
"But your action has damaged the self-respect of a dutiful officer. It has brought down the morale of the entire police department. It has hurt the morality of the bureaucracy, and the self-confidence of the workforce has collapsed," he added.
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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
