Karnataka Bengaluru News Live Updates: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Friday arrested BJP leader Divya Hagargi in connection with the Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) recruitment scam in Karnataka. Police sources said Divya was nabbed from a hideout in Pune in Maharashtra, and is expected to be brought to Kalaburgi this morning. She is the 18th accused to be arrested in the case. Divya’s husband Rajesh Hagargi was previously arrested while she had managed to escape. The CID on Thursday also arrested a government employee, who allegedly helped a woman candidate in the exam.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, in the meantime, will travel to New Delhi on Friday night amid speculation that he may discuss changes in his cabinet during his one-day visit to attend a conference of chief justices and chief ministers. In other news, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) administrator Rakesh Singh Thursday instructed the officials of the civic body to complete the infrastructural projects and carry out repair works on time.
Wading into the row over actor Ajay Devgn declaring Hindi as the country’s “national language” during a Twitter exchange with Kannada star Kichha Sudeep, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai Thursday came out in support of the latter saying “our states were formed because of languages”. Sudeep said that Hindi is “no longer a national language”, owing to the success of South Indian films. And Ajay Devgn hit back on Twitter, asking why the south industries dub films in Hindi then.
An additional 2 lakh metric tons of Ragi would be procured under the Minimum Support Price scheme after getting approval from the centre, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said.
Speaking to media persons at Jagalur in Davangere district, Bommai said, already 2 lakh tons of Ragi have been procured and recently an additional 1.14 lakh tons were procured. Now there is still demand for procurement of more Ragi. The issue has been raised with the Union Food minister and it would be discussed further to get the approval for the procurement of another 2 lakh tons.
Amid reports that he had plans to distribute food kits and financial aid to the families of those accused in the Hubballi violence, Karnataka Congress leader and MLA Zameer Ahmed Khan on Friday clarified that he is in Mecca on a pilgrimage, and has nothing to do with it.
The clarification came even as he received flak from several BJP leaders and the Hubballi-Dharwad unit of the party, even writing to the Police Commissioner not to permit such an activity.
“I have come to Mecca on a pilgrimage since April 17th. The recent allegations on me are completely baseless & false. I have no role in any activities mentioned in the allegations on me,” Khan tweeted.
Stating that he has seen reports of Zameer supporting the accused in the violence, Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said the Congress leader in his capacity as an MLA should have condemned them, but he is supporting and trying to “become their hero”.
“This will send a wrong message to the society that indulging in such activities will fetch rewards. It is dangerous for maintenance of peace and order. The whole society will have to condemn anti-social and communal elements who try to disturb peace…Congress will have to think about it,” he said. (PTI)
While Bengaluru’s deteriorating air quality is a cause of concern, interventions targeted at polluting sources can help reduce pollution levels, according to the studies released by the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP).
The studies — ‘Emission Inventory and Pollution Reduction Strategies for Bengaluru’ and ‘Identification of Polluting Sources for Bengaluru’ — identified polluting sources or activities or hotspots, which have been a significant challenge for the policymakers working in the air pollution sector.
While the study reports were launched by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on February 4, for the findings to be understood and utilised by the government departments, CSTEP on Friday conducted a data dissemination and capacity building event for over 50 state government officials from Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB). (Read More)
Tension prevailed at GITAM University campus on the outskirts of Bengaluru after a 22-year-old student fell to her death from the sixth floor of the hostel building on Wednesday night, the police said. Cops have been deployed on the campus to prevent untoward incidents.
The deceased Agasha Asiina, a native of Mbarara in the western region of Uganda, was a final-year Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) student, the police said. Following her death, the students accused the university’s management of failing to provide her timely medical assistance and alleged the absence of safety measures in the building.
As news of the death spread, hundreds of students staged a protest against the management on Thursday. The stir turned violent after some of them pelted stones, damaging window panes, among other things. The Doddaballapur rural police had to resort to mild lathi charging to control the protesters. (Read More)
Asserting that the government has put in place a supportive policy environment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged the industry to make India a semiconductor hub of the world based on the principles of high technology, high quality and high reliability.
In his inaugural address at the Semicon India-2022 conference here, Modi said the country has the appetite for “technology and risk-taking” and emphasised that hard work has been done over the last few years to create an environment that encourages growth.
India’s own consumption of semiconductors is expected to cost USD 80 billion by 2026 and USD 110 billion by 2030, he noted.
Highlighting that the country has an exceptional semiconductor design talent pool, which makes up for up to 20 per cent of the world’s semiconductor design engineers, he said, “It is our collective aim to establish India as one of the key partners in global semiconductor supply chains”.
“We want to work in this direction based on the principle of high tech, high quality and high reliability,” Modi said.
The prime minister took a jibe at earlier governments for not working in sync with the industry by mentioning ‘Not Gate’ and ‘And Gate’ — technical terms that are common in the semiconductor industry parlance. (PTI)
The Karnataka government on Friday withdrew results to the Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) exams that were held in October last year and admitted that malpractice took place at more than one exam centre. A re-examination will be conducted soon, Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said.
On Friday, seven persons, including BJP leader Divya Hagaragi, Jnana Jyothi English Medium School headmaster Kashinath, teachers Archana and Sunanda, a candidate named Shanthi Bai and two others were arrested. Maharashtra businessman Suresh Katgaon was arrested for sheltering Hagaragi. (Read More)
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai who is under pressure to expand or rejig his cabinet at the earliest, ahead of the Assembly polls next year, on Friday said he would try to discuss in this regard with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is scheduled to visit the city on May 3. The Chief Minister who is travelling to Delhi tonight on an official visit said he will not be meeting the party high command during the tour.
“I have taken note of the sentiments made by them (MLAs) and have conveyed them to the high command, who said a decision will be taken at the appropriate time. Most probably Amit Shah is scheduled to visit Bengaluru on May 3, I will use the opportunity then (to discuss about the cabinet),” he said in response to a question on the demand from legislators to expand the cabinet ahead of polls. (PTI)
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Karnataka Police arrested a prominent Maharashtra businessman Suresh Katgaon from Solapur on charges of sheltering a key accused in the police sub-inspector recruitment exam scam. Katgaon was arrested Thursday night after investigators tracked down the key accused in the recruitment exam Divya Hagaragi, 41, the former president of the women’s unit of the BJP in Kalaburagi district of Karnataka.
Hagaragi, the owner and principal of the Jnana Jyothi English School in Kalaburagi, is accused of facilitating large-scale cheating in the police sub-inspector recruitment exam conducted on October 3, 2021, where the school was an examination centre. Read more
A 24-year-old woman in Bengaluru has been hospitalised with severe burn injuries after a 27-year-old man stalking her poured acid on her on Thursday morning while she was on her way to work. Three police teams are now on the lookout for the man, who fled the spot.
The accused has been identified as Nagesh, a Hegganahalli resident who runs a small garment factory. According to the police, the woman, who worked at an office in Sunkadakatte on Magadi Road, was climbing the stairs to her workplace when Nagesh splashed acid on her from behind. When the woman fell on the ground, Nagesh, who was wearing gloves, allegedly continued to pour acid on her even as she screamed for help. Read more
A local court Thursday handed over H Nagaraj, registrar (evaluation) of Karnatak University Dharwad, to 10-day police custody. Nagaraj was arrested after the arrest of one of his students, Sowmya R, from Mysuru.
The arrests follow a complaint by the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) that the examination conducted to hire assistant professors held in March this year was compromised. KEA executive director S Ramya had filed a complaint alleging that the Geography question paper was leaked hours before the exam began on March 14.
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) administrator Rakesh Singh Thursday instructed the officials of the civic body to complete the infrastructural projects and carry out repair works on time.
Addressing a virtual review meeting on the works being executed by the BBMP, he said, “Instead of blaming other departments like BWSSB (Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board) and BESCOM (Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited), all the roads and footpaths in the city should be maintained properly. Remove and replace broken slab stones and misplaced kerb stones immediately. The road work taken up by the smart city project should be in a good condition. Pending works of the smart city roads should be completed quickly to allow smooth vehicular movement.”
The Karnataka Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Thursday night arrested Maharashtra businessman Suresh Katgaonfor sheltering former BJP Kalaburagi women’s unit president Divya Hagaragi, who is the main accused in the Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) recruitment scam in Karnataka.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will travel to New Delhi on Friday night amid speculation that he may discuss changes in his cabinet during his one-day visit to attend a conference of chief justices and chief ministers. “There have been no discussions as yet on the cabinet expansion. I am going to Delhi tomorrow night. There is a conference of chief justices and chief ministers. I will be attending the conference and returning immediately,” Bommai said on Thursday while announcing the visit.
“When the high command discusses the issue and when a decision is taken, all the information will be provided,” he said. Read more
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Friday arrested BJP leader Divya Hagargi in connection with the Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) recruitment scam in Karnataka. Police sources said Divya was nabbed from a hideout in Pune in Maharashtra, and is expected to be brought to Kalaburgi this morning. She is the 18th accused to be arrested in the case. Divya’s husband Rajesh Hagargi was previously arrested while she had managed to escape. The CID on Thursday also arrested a government employee, who allegedly helped a woman candidate in the exam.
The Criminal Investigation Department of Karnataka Police, which is probing into a scam in the examination to recruit 545 police sub-inspectors in the state, on Thursday arrested a government employee, who allegedly helped a woman candidate in the exam. This is the 17th arrest in the case.
Jyoti Patil is alleged to have provided answers via a Bluetooth device to the candidate who appeared for the police sub-inspector recruitment exam at Jnana Jyothi English School in Kalaburagi on October 3, 2021.
The Crime Investigation Department (CID) of the Bengaluru Police, which is probing the alleged irregularities in the examination to recruit 545 police sub-inspectors, arrested BJP leader Divya Hagaragi late on Thursday. This comes in the wake of allegations against Gyan Jyothi institute that is run by Divya and her husband Rajesh Hagaragi.
Good morning and welcome to our live blog! Stay tuned as we bring you the latest updates from Karnataka.
A Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) vehicle sprays disinfectant amid a surge in coronavirus cases, in Bengaluru, Thursday.
(PTI photos)
Aimed at formulating a new policy on AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming & Comics), the Karnataka government will soon constitute a committee, Minister for Electronics, IT/BT, and S&T, C N Ashwath Narayan said on Thursday.
Animation and gaming courses have been included in the Diploma curriculum considering the growth of the AVGC sector, and likewise, the engineering curriculum also has been updated to suit the present-day industry demands.
“The National Education Policy emphasises on imparting modern streams of knowledge such as AVGC. This would enable the youth of the state to make use of the economic opportunities,’ he said. (PTI)
Students of the Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering in Mysuru have designed a low cost cooling cart for vegetable vendors which will keep the perishable products fresh in summers.
The makers of the cooling cart, Naveen H V, Shubham Sain, Supreeth S, Vivek Chandrashekhar, are third year students of mechanical engineering at the college. They explained that the carts could be used even to keep dairy products since the refrigeration of the cart could be maintained within a temperature range of 0 to 10 degrees Celsius.
A government engineer said to be an expert in using Bluetooth devices for cheating on examinations is among five persons, including a former BJP functionary, against whom arrest warrants were issued by a Kalaburagi court in the sub-inspector recruitment scam in Karnataka on Tuesday.
Manjunath Malekundi, 33, an assistant executive engineer, has been absconding since April 9, when the police’s Criminal Investigation Department registered a case over the large-scale cheating in the sub-inspector recruitment exam held on October 3, 2021.
Karnataka, Bengaluru News Highlights: BJP leader Divya Hagargi arrested over involvement in cop recruitment scam – The Indian Express
