Woman arrested for cheating, robbing wealthy men after luring them in Karnataka's Belagavi
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): Belagavi Police have arrested a woman who allegedly lured wealthy men and robbed them, officials said on Thursday.
The accused has been identified as Deepa Avatagi (33), a native of Mahalingpur in Bagalkot district. She claimed to be a fashion designer, they said.
Her associate, Shivanand Mathapati, a resident of Hukkeri taluk in Belagavi district, is currently absconding.
Police said Mathapati allegedly supplied information about affluent individuals to the accused.
According to investigators, Deepa befriended wealthy men through social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. After establishing contact, she allegedly engaged them in obscene chats and later invited them to meet her at a lodge in Belagavi city.
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Once the victim arrived at the lodge, she would ask him to take a shower.
While the man was inside the bathroom, she would allegedly lock the door from outside and flee with his mobile phone, cash and car keys, Belagavi Police Commissioner Bhushan Gulabrao Borase said.
Police said some of the incidents were captured on the lodge's CCTV cameras. The accused would later call the victim from another phone number and allegedly demand money, threatening to lodge a police complaint if the victim refused to pay.
A case has been registered at the Tilakwadi Police Station in Belagavi. A police team led by Inspector Parashuram Poojari arrested the accused during the investigation.
Police have seized property worth approximately Rs 32.86 lakh from the accused. The seized items include cars, 11 mobile phones, a tablet, a dongle, three car keys and Rs 14,000 in cash, the senior police officer said.
Further investigation into the case is underway, and efforts are on to trace the absconding accomplice, police added.
"The recovered items will be returned to the rightful owners. Shivanand is still absconding and will be secured very soon. He was earlier arrested in Bengaluru by the Bengaluru Police. We are currently working out to find how many people have been targeted by them," the officer added.
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Russian First Deputy PM Manturov meets PM Modi; discusses trade, energy ties
New Delhi (PTI): Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov on Thursday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral ties in areas of investment, energy and industrial cooperation.
Manturov, on a two-day visit to India, also held talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
The Russian embassy said Modi and Manturov discussed "specific steps to implement agreements reached" during the India-Russia summit held in December last.
"Particular attention was paid to further strengthening Russia-India trade, economic, investment, energy and industrial cooperation," it said on social media.
In their meeting, Doval and Manturov were learnt to have discussed bilateral defence cooperation besides the evolving regional security situation.
The Russian first deputy PM's visit to New Delhi comes days after India cleared procurement of a fresh batch of five S-400 missile systems from Russia.
The decision to procure the additional batch of five S-400 air defence missile systems was taken against the backdrop of the missile system proving its capability during Operation Sindoor.
The missile system played a crucial role in India's dominance over Pakistan during the May 7-10 hostilities last year.
In October 2018, India had signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of S-400 air defence missile systems, notwithstanding a warning by the US that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions under the provisions of Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
Three squadrons have already been delivered.
In the talks, the two sides are also expected to exchange views on the West Asia conflict and its impact on global economy, especially on the energy sector.
It is learnt that both sides also reviewed the implementation of decisions taken at the summit talks between Prime Minister Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in last December.
Following talks between the two leaders, India and Russia unveiled a raft of measures including a five-year roadmap to build a robust economic partnership and to increase the annual trade to USD 100 billion by 2030.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last week lauded India's "independent foreign policy" and said that Russia looks forward to welcoming Prime Minister Modi for a visit this year.
In an address at a conference titled 'India and Russia: Towards a new bilateral agenda', he said the "time-tested" friendship between the two countries is a model on interstate relations based on mutual trust and respect.
