Zameer Ahmed Khan denies claims of him seeking 5000 crores for renovation of Haj Bhawan
Bengaluru: Minister for Housing and Minorities, Zameer Ahmed, has strongly denied the viral claims suggesting that he sought a massive sum of five thousand crore rupees from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for the construction of Haj Bhawan. In a statement addressing the matter on Thursday, Zameer categorically refuted these allegations, labeling them as pure lies.
Zameer clarified that his actual statement was regarding the allocation of Rs 5000 crores for the development of the minority community if the Congress government came to power. He had appealed for this allocation to be included in the Congress manifesto, assuring his commitment to providing it.
Expressing concerns over the possible reduction of funds, Zameer emphasized the need to avoid any deductions. He stated, "Our religious leaders are concerned as they have heard that the grant they were supposed to receive may be reduced due to the implementation of the five guarantee schemes. In 2018, during your tenure as Chief Minister, Rs 3150 crore was allocated for the development of minorities. However, subsequent governments gradually reduced this grant. Hence the request for five thousand crore rupees. Providing this grant would greatly benefit our community."
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Zameer also expressed gratitude for the allocation of five crore rupees for the renovation of Haj Bhavan. However, he expressed displeasure over individuals who have misinterpreted his statement and engaged in trolling. He firmly stated, "Such misrepresentations are far from the truth, and strict legal action will be taken against such individuals."
In addition to online trolls, Zameer Ahmed highlighted that mainstream media, specifically Public TV news channel, had also misrepresented his statement. The channel aired a segment falsely indicating an "Allocation of 5,000 crores for the renovation of Haj Bhavan," when in reality, the allocated amount was only 5 crore. Zameer Ahmed clarified this discrepancy, urging accurate reporting by the media.
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
