Six Bills passed in Karnataka Assembly without discussion amidst din
Bengaluru, Jul 25: Six Bills were passed by Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Thursday without any discussion amidst din, with opposition BJP and JD(S) protesting from the well of the House, demanding a discussion on the alleged fraudulent allotment of sites to land losers by Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), including to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi.
Among them were Karnataka Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other Backward Classes (Reservation of Appointments etc.,) (Amendment Bill), 2024, which provides for reservation so as to create various employment opportunities to the SC,ST and other Backward Classes in the process of appointment on contract basis in Government departments, Boards, Corporations and Universities, among others.
Piloting the bill, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said it is aimed at providing "social justice" in outsourcing and to provide Constitutional rights to everyone.
The Karnataka Land Revenue (Second Amendment) Bill 2024 was also passed. Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said it provides legal status to Revenue Commissioner and Revenue Commissionerate, which was not there in the original act.
ALSO READ: Karnataka BJP takes out march to Raj Bhavan, complains to Governor about MUDA scam
Also passed was Karnataka Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains (Amendment Bill), 2024, which provides for making company or firm or Limited Liability Partnership concern (LLP) or a partnership firm, interested societies or cooperative societies, trusts or Non-Governmental Organisations or interested individuals eligible to be empanelled as ‘Smaraka Mitras’ and is aimed at protecting the monuments.
Karnataka Government Parks (Preservation) (Amendment) Bill, 2024, to make a provision to provide two acres of land for the purpose of development of Upper Terminal Point (UTP) under Nandi Hills Ropeway project on public private partnership model for a period of 30 years, was also passed.
Other Bills that were passed are: Sri Renuka Yellamma Temple Development Authority Bill 2024, and Karnataka Medical Registration and Certain Other Law (Amendment) Bill 2024.
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
