Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah believes that the Assembly election in the State on May 12 is a battle between communalism and secularism, and will set the agenda for 2019.

In an interview, he said the Congress returning to power in Karnataka is imperative for the national political scene to change.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to make a series of visits to Karnataka in the last leg of the campaign, will not be able to sway the voters, he said.

“You cannot wave a magic wand and change things in an election,” he said, predicting a Congress victory and ruling out the possibility of a hung Assembly.

Accusing both Mr. Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah of making corruption allegations without substance, he said a slew of welfare programmes by his government would see his party through.

The Chief Minister — who is expected to contest from Chamundeshwari constituency in Mysuru district and is toying with the idea of also contesting from Badami in Bagalkot district — said the 2018 Assembly poll would be his last battle.

 

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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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