SIT has begun probe in realtor death case: K'taka Home min
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Sunday said that an SIT constituted to probe the death of C J Roy, Founder and Chairman of the Confident Group, has begun the probe.
Meanwhile, the last rites of Roy, a real estate tycoon who was found dead at his office on January 30 with bullet injuries, were performed on Sunday in the presence of family members, friends and admirers.
He allegedly died by suicide amid Income Tax raids at his premises.
A native of Kerala, he was laid to rest at Confident Cascade near Bannerghatta here, as per his wishes, after a prayer at the church, sources said.
"A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted under the leadership of Joint Commissioner of Police Vamshi Krishna; they have started the investigation from yesterday itself. Until the report comes we cannot say anything, otherwise it will be speculation and not definite information. So we will have to wait," Parameshwara told reporters in response to a question on the probe into Roy's death.
Responding to questions on allegations by some Congress leaders that agencies like IT, ED and CBI were being misused by the central government, and whether there were any links to upcoming polls in Kerala, he said, "without knowing or having information, we cannot say anything. Let the probe report come, after that everything will be known."
An Unnatural Death Report (UDR) has been registered at Ashok Nagar Police Station in connection with the death of Roy, who was Honorary Consul of the Slovak Republic.
Roy had allegedly shot himself when the Income Tax team was conducting searches in his office in Bengaluru, according to police sources.
His brother C J Babu on Saturday had claimed that Roy was under pressure due to the Income Tax department's proceedings.
Babu on Sunday speaking to reporters after the last rites said, he last spoke to his brother on January 30 morning, as Roy had called him a couple of times to enquire as to when he will be back from Thailand, and did not mention anything about IT raids during the conversation.
"Roy has gone, it is difficult for us to digest that he is not there. We don't know what to do. We have to see what the family decides. There is nothing to say....we cannot have one more Roy, who used to attend Kannada programmes and events with excitement," he said.
"He last spoke to me on January 30 at 10:40 am, as I was in Thailand to attend a wedding. He asked me when I will be back, and I told him that I will be back on the next day at 7 pm. He said-- let's speak once back," he added.
Stating that Roy had come to Bengaluru on January 27 and stayed at a hotel, Babu said, "I was not in town, as I left for a marriage on January 28....I don't want to speak about anything else. Let's see what comes from the SIT probe."
Roy's son Rohit said, "My father was a great man and I'm at a loss of words to explain what happened. I'm not very sure what caused it. I would like to thank everyone for attending the last rites today, and thanks to the media for being with him when he was alive and today....I don't have much to say as I'm trying to process what has happened...."
He said he will come back and answer questions in the future.
Meanwhile, state BJP President B Y Vijayendra expressing grief over Roy's demise and offering condolence to his family, expressed suspicion over the government hurriedly forming an SIT, and also about the alleged conduct of some Congress leaders including deputy CM D K Shivakumar.
SITs have been formed by this government whenever it wants to save its own people or wants to target the opposition leaders, he alleged, as he highlighted SIT was formed during Valmiki corporation scam, Chinnaswamy stadium stampede case, among others
"Let's wait and see what happens in the days ahead," he added, without dwelling any further on the topic.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Environment ministry endorses names of 10-member expert committee set up to define Aravalli hills
New Delhi (PTI): The Union Environment Ministry has told the Supreme Court that it has no objection with the Central Empowered Committee's proposed 10-member high-powered expert committee which has been tasked to come up with a uniform definition for the Aravalli hills and ranges.
In an affidavit filed before the top court, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has endorsed the names suggested for the high-powered expert committee comprising in-service and retired bureaucrats associated with the Forest Survey of India (FSI), Geological Survey of India (GSI) and Survey of India, along with academicians.
"The MoEFCC respectfully submits that it has no objection if this court as the aforesaid suggested names for the constitution of the proposed High Powered Committee. It is further submitted that the Ministry does not have any additional names to propose at this stage for inclusion in the said committee," the affidavit said.
The committee is proposed to be headed by Kanchan Devi, the current director general of the Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education.
The MoEF, in its affidavit, said the aspects relating to the Aravalli Hills and Ranges require a comprehensive and analytical examination, including stakeholder consultation, by a group of domain experts in the relevant fields.
The CEC in its report to the apex court said Devi, a 1991 Indian Forest Service officer from the Madhya Pradesh cadre, has over three decades of experience in forestry education and research, wildlife and forest policy, and institutional leadership.
The other members include Subhash Ashutosh, former director general of FSI,
former GSI director Rajendra Kumar Sharma, climate and energy policy expert Tejal Kanitkar, senior academician and life sciences researcher Jaya Parkash Yadav, senior geographer and scholar Tejbir Singh Rana, former additional surveyor general of India SV Singh, former Gujarat principal chief conservator of forests CN Pandey, and former Nagaland PCCF Dharmendra Prakash.
The CEC also recommended names of RN Mishra, a noted author and Vijay Dhasmana, an ecological restoration practitioner and conservationist.
On February 26, the top court had asked the environment ministry and other stakeholders to suggest names of domain experts for the panel which would define the Aravalli hills and ranges, and observed that only lawful mining would be allowed in the region.
The top court, on December 29, took note of the outcry over the new definition of the Aravallis and kept in abeyance its November 20 directions that accepted a uniform definition of these hills and ranges. It had also stalled all mining activities.
It remarked that there was a need to resolve "critical ambiguities", including whether the criteria of 100-metre elevation and the 500-metre gap between hills would strip a significant portion of the range of environmental protection.
