Threat calls to Minister Priyank Kharge will be probed: Home Minister G. Parameshwara
Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister Dr. G. Parameshwara said the state government has taken serious note of the threat calls received by Minister Priyank Kharge and has ordered a detailed investigation into the matter.
Speaking to reporters near his residence in Sadashivanagar, Parameshwara said, “We will investigate who made the threat calls and from where they originated. Minister Priyank Kharge might have expressed his opinion on the RSS issue, the government will take an appropriate decision on that. But threatening someone for expressing an opinion is not acceptable. I have directed officials to examine the matter thoroughly,” he said.
The minister said the Congress government has completed two and a half years in office, and all ministers have been advised to focus on their work. “We haven’t discussed any political matters,” he added.
Referring to former minister Raju Gowda’s allegation that an ASI from Yadgir kidnapped and assaulted him, Parameshwara said he had instructed the ADGP (Law and Order) to submit a detailed report. “Once the report is received, suitable action will be taken,” he said.
Commenting on the BJP’s criticism of the government, the minister said, “BJP leaders seem to have no other work than to criticize. That’s what they do best. Criticism is fine, but it should be positive. Don’t criticize just for the sake of politics,” he remarked.
On Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw’s recent tweet about potholes in Bengaluru, Parameshwara said that road repair work has already started. “These things take time. It’s not right to criticize while work is ongoing. If the work is not completed later, then criticism is justified,” he said.
When asked whether AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge would return to state politics, Parameshwara said, “If he comes back to Karnataka politics, we will welcome him wholeheartedly. He is one of our tallest leaders,” he added.
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Rs 640 crore cyber fraud: SC refuses anticipatory bail to CA in ED case
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to grant anticipatory bail to a chartered accountant in a money laundering investigation linked to a Rs 640 crore cyber fraud case.
A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Augustine George Masih upheld the order of the Delhi High Court which had denied pre-arrest bail to Bhaskar Yadav and directed him to surrender in 10 days.
The high court on February 2 dismissed anticipatory bail applications by Yadav and Ashok Kumar Sharma.
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In the 22-page judgement, the high court had said there was an "intricate mesh of laundering of money", and the need expressed by the Enforcement Directorate to interrogate the two accused in custody was not unreasonable.
"The accused/applicants, being skilled professionals, have allegedly crafted laundering of proceeds of crime across multiple layers, and to unearth the same, I find substance in the submission of learned counsel for DoE (Directorate of Enforcement) that custodial interrogation is much required," the HC said.
"It is not a case of mere dealing in cryptocurrency, which per se is not a crime in this country and the liability of the accused persons is confined to paying tax on the crypto transactions. The present cases exhibit a vast intricate mesh of movement of money, fraudulently extracted out of pocket of gullible investors, who appear to be primarily belonging to middle class," it had added.
The high court had stated that individual liberty was sacrosanct, but it could not brush aside the requirement to carry out a meaningful interrogation and investigation in the larger interest of the country's economy.
It had noted there were fresh complaints of the accused allegedly assaulting the investigating officers, bribing the local police to settle cyber fraud complaints and destroying electronic evidence.
The money laundering probe stems from two FIRs filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police that were registered to probe charges of cyber fraud to the tune of Rs 640 crore generated through betting, gambling, part-time jobs and phishing scams, the ED has earlier said in a statement.
As per the agency, the money of gullible people was siphoned off by layering funds cheated from them through more than 5,000 mule Indian bank accounts and subsequently uploaded on PYYPL, a UAE-based payment platform.
Part of the cyber fraud money was withdrawn in cash in Dubai through debit and credit cards issued by various Indian banks, it said.
According to the probe agency, the alleged scam was being run through a nexus of certain CAs, company secretaries and crypto traders who worked in tandem to launder the proceeds of crime.
