SI's death: Minister G Parameshwara announces Rs 50 lakh ex-gratia, govt job to wife
Koppal (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakh and a government job to the wife of a police sub-inspector, who died under suspicious circumstances on August 4.
Parameshwara on Wednesday ruled out a CBI investigation, saying that a CID probe was enough into the death of the SI, Parashuram.
Yadgir Congress MLA Channareddy Tannur and his son Pampanagouda Tannur have been booked on a complaint by Parashuram's wife Shwetha N V that they were responsible for his death as they had allegedly got her husband transferred within seven months of his getting a posting.
She accused Reddy and his son of demanding Rs 30 lakh from her husband if he wished to continue in the same place. Due to the demand, Parashuram was depressed and died by suicide, she alleged.
The Home Minister visited the bereaved family in Somanal village in Koppal district and consoled them.
Later, speaking to reporters Parameshwara expressed his grief over the death of the policeman.
"We cannot bring him back but it is my duty to console the family. It is a loss to me as well. He was an honest officer from the Dalit community who came up after a lot of struggle," the minister said.
He said the government has taken this case seriously.
"We have offered his wife, who is an engineering graduate in Electrical stream, in our department but she has asked for a job in the Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company (GESCOM). I will discuss this with the Chief Minister...," Parameshwara said.
"Our department and the state government have decided to give Rs 50 lakh to the family as a special grant," he added.
He dismissed the demand for a CBI probe.
"We will not give this case to the CBI. We will give them (SI's family) justice, which is their demand," the minister said.
Action will be taken against the accused based on the inquiry report, he said.
Parameshwara insisted that transfers don't happen in the police department by taking money.
According to the minister, a law is already in place that mandates transfers only after two years of the posting. If anyone gets transferred then they have the option to approach the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal (KAT) and get a stay, he explained.
With regard to Parashuram, the Minister said he was transferred within seven months of getting a posting.
Transfers of sub-inspectors falls under the jurisdiction of the Inspector General of Police and not the State government, he said.
"The CID will investigate why the IG transferred him before two years were completed," he added.
The SI's death has taken a political turn with the BJP and JD(S) levelling allegations against the Congress government for taking the lives of sincere officers belonging to the SC/ ST community.
They said barely three months ago, the Accounts Superintendent in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Chandrasekharan P died by suicide.
In his suicide note, Chandrasekharan alleged that there was an illegal transfer of Rs 187 crore of the Corporation including Rs 89 crore to bank accounts of several individuals in Hyderabad.
Former Tribal Welfare Minister B Nagendra, who resigned following Chandrasekharan's death, is in jail after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
