Three officers in Bengaluru suspended for negligence in duty during caste census
Bengaluru, Jul 3 (PTI): Three officers working in the Bengaluru civic agency have been suspended on charges of dereliction of duty while carrying out a caste census for the scheduled caste.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said if people are afraid that the survey was not happening properly, they can apply online.
"Is there any problem in applying online? We will do enumeration online, or approach door-to-door and in the camps. You just have to tell your caste using any of the three means. This is related to only the scheduled caste," he told reporters.
The three officers are Ramesh, Peddaraju and C Senthil Kumar, working in the revenue division of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike.
According to the suspension order issued by the BBMP Zonal Commissioner (East Zone) Snehal R on July 2, which was shared with the media on Thursday, revenue inspector Ramesh and tax collector Peddaraju were instructed to ensure that enumerators working under them affix stickers on houses after contacting the residents of the household and confirming that the survey has been completed.
Once the process was over, they were required to upload the data through the mobile application. However, it was observed that the enumerators and staff involved in the house-to-house sticker affixing work were placing stickers arbitrarily without contacting the owners and residents of the respective houses in HRBR Layout.
It was found that the officers failed to take note of this and exhibited an irresponsible and negligent attitude.
Since there appeared to be a dereliction of duty on the part of the officers, they were placed under suspension with immediate effect.
In a similar manner, tax collector Senthil Kumar, working in the Rajarajeshwari BBMP zone, too did his work negligently, following which he was also suspended, an order said.
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ED arrests Sandeepa Virk, 'cosmetologist' for alleged money laundering
New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate said on Wednesday it has arrested a woman, who claims to be an actor and a cosmetologist, under the anti-money laundering law in a case of alleged fraud and misrepresentation.
The agency said the purported links of the woman, Sandeepa Virk, with a Reliance Group executive, Angarai Natarajan Sethuraman (President, Corporate Affairs), are also under its scanner. Sethuraman, in a statement, denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Virk was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Tuesday after searches were conducted against her and her associates in Delhi and Mumbai over the last two days.
A special court sent her to the ED's custody till August 14, the agency said. The woman claims to be the owner of a skin care products selling website named hyboocare.com, which the ED claimed was a "front" for money laundering.
She and her associates are being probed for allegedly exerting undue influence through "misrepresentation" and "defrauding" individuals by soliciting money under false pretences.
According to an Instagram ID of Virk, she is an actor and entrepreneur and the founder of the said website.
The federal agency said in a statement that the woman was also "in touch with" Sethuraman, former director of erstwhile Reliance Capital Limited.
She was communicating with him regarding "illegal liaisoning", the ED claimed, adding that the searches at Sethuraman's residence "confirmed" these allegations.
"Besides, diversion of funds for personal benefit has also been unearthed during the course of the search action," it said.
The ED alleged that public money worth about Rs 18 crore belonging to Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL) was disbursed to Sethuraman in 2018 by "flouting" prudent lending norms.
The funds were lent under terms that allowed a deferment of the principal amount as well as the interest, with multiple waivers granted and no due diligence conducted, it said.
The ED claimed that besides this, a home loan of Rs 22 crore was provided by Reliance Capital Limited by "violating" the prudential norms. "A large part of these loans are seen to have been eventually siphoned off and remained unpaid," it alleged.
Sethuraman, in a statement, dismissed the allegations as "baseless". He denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Detailing about Virk's web portal, the agency said it purportedly sold FDA-approved beauty products. However, the ED said the products listed on the website have been found to be non-existent and the portal lacks a user registration option and is plagued by persistent payment gateway issues.
A scrutiny of the website uncovered minimal social-media engagement, an inactive WhatsApp contact number and an absence of transparent organisational details, all of which reinforce the finding of "non-genuine" commercial activity, the ED claimed.
"These factors, including limited product range, inflated pricing, false claims of FDA approval and technical inconsistencies, indicate that the website serves as a front for laundering funds," it said.
Another social media-hosted bio data of the woman said she is a certified cosmetologist.
The ED said several "incriminating" documents were seized during the searches and the statement of a man named Farrukh Ali, stated to be an associate of Virk, was recorded.
The money-laundering case stems from an FIR lodged by the Punjab Police.
Sethuraman said that the home loan he received from Reliance Capital was granted following due process and was secured by the property offered as collateral.
