Accused in duping case, Swami Abhinava Halashri held in Cuttack; B'luru CCB gets custody
Bengaluru: Swami Abhinava Halashri of Hirehadagali taluk in Vijayanagara taluk, was arrested in Cuttack in Odisha on Tuesday and remanded in Bengaluru CCB Division police officers for 10 days. The pontiff is suspected to have been involved in the case of duping businessman Govindababu Poojary from Byndoor in Udupi district of crores of rupees with an assurance that Poojary would be given the BJP local ticket for the last Assembly elections.
Bengaluru CCB Division police officers had arrested the pontiff, who is the third suspect in the duping case, when he had been travelling under disguise and travelling in a train in Cuttack in Odisha on Tuesday. The police officers had also appealed before court to be granted custody of the pontiff.
On Wednesday, the Bengaluru 19th ACMM Court remanded Swami Abhinava Halashri in the custody of the Bengaluru CCB Division police officers for a period of 10 days, till September 29.
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MediaOne TV Facebook page restored after block linked to ‘government request’
Kochi: The official Facebook page of Malayalam news channel MediaOne TV has been restored after being blocked without prior notice, the broadcaster said on Wednesday.
The channel was quoted by Maktoob as saying that the restriction was lifted automatically, with Meta Platforms informing it that the action had been taken following a “government request” which has now expired or been reversed.
The development came shortly after the channel approached the Kerala High Court challenging the blocking of its page, terming it arbitrary and in violation of legal provisions and judicial precedents. The High Court had issued notice to Meta via email hours before the restriction was withdrawn.
In its petition, the channel said access to its Facebook page had been restricted for users in India without citing any specific content or alleged violation. It contended that while individual posts may be taken down under applicable a rule, blocking an entire page goes beyond the scope of such measures.
The incident followed an earlier action taken against the channel in 2022, when the Ministry of Information and transmitting prohibited it from transmitting. It cited national security concerns regarding the Ministry of Home Affairs' refusal of security clearance.
The Supreme Court of India in April 2023 set aside the ban, observing that national security claims cannot be made without substantive basis and that criticism of government policies does not render a media outlet anti-national.
