Talk of cabinet expansion gains momentum in Karnataka as CM Bommai flies to Delhi
Bengaluru, Apr 5: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday said he hopes to get instructions from the party leadership on the expansion or rejig of his cabinet, during the New Delhi trip.
The Chief Minister, who will be in the national capital today and tomorrow, is expected to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National President J P Nadda.
"I have no such instructions so far, when I go there and when I meet Amit Shah and Nadda ji, I hope to get...." Bommai said in response to a question on cabinet expansion or rejig.
Speaking to reporters here ahead of his travel, he said he has sought appointment from Nadda and Shah. "...it is not yet fixed, if it is fixed, I will meet them."
When told that some Ministerial aspirants are in Delhi, he merely said, "...naturally."
There is pressure mounting on the Chief Minister to expand or rejig his cabinet soon, after the recent Assembly elections in five states.
Some legislators have even been advocating a Gujarat-like overhaul of the Karnataka cabinet soon, to make way for new faces, ahead of the assembly election next year.
There are currently 30 Ministers in the State Cabinet, including the CM, against the sanctioned strength of 34.
Shah, who was recently in the city, had set a target of 150 seats to Karnataka BJP leaders for 2023 assembly elections in the state, where the ruling party is eyeing a successive term.
Bommai said he will be meeting Union Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to discuss Mekedatu, Mahadayi, Upper Krishna, Upper Bhadra projects, and other river projects, requesting for their quick implementation with technical and administrative clearences.
He said he will also be meeting Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman regarding GST issues, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sainik Schools, and try to meet Union Power Minister R K Singh.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
