Bengaluru (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi arrived at a special court here on Friday to appear personally before it in connection with a case filed by the BJP's Karnataka unit for issuing "defamatory" advertisements in mainstream newspapers.

The advertisement ahead of the Assembly polls last year accused the then BJP government in the state of indulging in large-scale corruption during its 2019-2023 rule.

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The court had on June 1 granted bail to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also the State Congress chief, after they appeared before it in connection with the defamation case.

Judge K N Shivakumar had directed Gandhi to appear before the court on June 7 without fail.

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Thane (PTI): The Thane Crime Branch has arrested two women for allegedly stealing gold ornaments from citizens and solved nine such cases with the recovery of jewellery worth Rs 37.19 lakh, an official said on Friday.

Senior Inspector Sachin Gaikwad of Crime Unit-I said the accused targeted elderly commuters and passengers on crowded buses.

The latest case came to light after a 72-year-old woman recently approached the police, saying a gold-encrusted purse was stolen from her bag when she was travelling by bus from Kharegaon Naka to Ozone Valley bus stop in Thane.

A team examined CCTV footage from the area and gathered information about the suspects, he said. “Acting on technical inputs and surveillance, the Crime Branch team arrested the two accused women on May 7,” Gaikwad said.

The accused were identified as Sangeeta Dashrath Peethkar (45) and Surekha Bajrang Gaikwad (47), both residents of Mumbai’s Mulund, which is located adjacent to Thane.

Police said the two women are involved in nine theft offences. Gold ornaments collectively valued at Rs 37.19 lakh have been recovered from the duo, said police, adding that further investigation is underway.