1. I-T Dept Raids Properties of Cong’s Parameshwara, Jalappa
Income tax officers on Thursday raided education institutes owned by senior Congress leaders G Parameshwara and RL Jalappa in an alleged multi-crore tax-evasion case linked to the National Eligibility cum-Entrance Test (NEET) held for medical and dental college admissions this year.
Around 150 officials raided 30 premises in Bengaluru, Tumakuru, Nelamangala (Bengaluru Rural), Kolar and Chikkaballapura and also in Rajasthan. The searches will continue on Friday.
While Congress termed the raids ‘BJP vendetta’, I-T officials said they initiated action as part of a probe to check alleged irregularities in allocating medical seats under NEET in two colleges run by former deputy chief minister Parameshwara and one by former Union minister Jalappa.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. Lake Breach Hits 300 Families in North B’luru
A levee around a lake in northwest Bengaluru came crashing down in heavy rain early on Thursday, flooding surrounding localities, damaging property and marooning at least 300 families.
Walls collapsed and houses were inundated in Muneshwara Layout, Channanayakanapalya, Bhavani Layout and surrounding neighbourhoods by water from Doddabidarakallu Lake, said residents who endured a terrifying night and were in the morning surveying what remained of their possessions. More than 20 cars and 40 two-wheelers were damaged.
(Source: The Times of India)
3. Siddaramaiah Slams Government on Flood Relief
A day after being named as the leader of the opposition, former chief minister Siddaramaiah stormed the opening day of the winter session of the Karnataka Assembly on Thursday. He slammed the ruling BJP for its failure to take up flood relief work.
As expected, the Opposition party used the opportunity to hold the government to account on the issue of flood relief. Siddaramaiah blamed the Central government for being unfair to Karnataka. “The state has incurred a loss of Rs 38,000 crore. Yet the Centre has released only Rs 1,200 crore which is nowhere sufficient to handle flood damage,” he said.
Although the state government had said that the three-day session will primarily focus on discussion on the budget and its passage, the same could not be materialised as the Opposition Congress picked a debate on flood issue.
(Source: Economic Times)
4. IISc Students Protest Ravi Shankar’s Visit
A visit by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to speak on the IISc campus on Thursday triggered a letter of protest by students.
The spiritual leader intended the visit to be a meditative session at the institute’s JN Tata auditorium on the occasion of World Mental Health Day. However, many students said they were outraged to see news of the event publicised on the institute’s official website. A petition was mobilised last Sunday, garnering over 700 signatures before it was delivered to Professor Anurag Kumar, the Director of IISc, asking for clarity on the matter. IISc has a student strength of about 4,000.
A source clarified that students did not wish to impede Ravi Shankar’s right to free speech.
(Source: Deccan Herald)
5. Two Extort Rs 1.5L From Elderly Man for ‘Free Therapy’
Two men promised to fix the hearing impairment of a 63-year-old man for free, but later took Rs 1.5 lakh from him.
The victim, Manjunath Bhat, said in a complaint that he visited the hospital on 3 August and the accused, later identified as Gautham, noticed his hearing aid and promised to cure his condition for free by ayurvedic therapy by a man called Shankara Murthy. Gautham called him the same evening and informed Bhat that his brother had the same problem and it was cured by the ayurvedic therapy.
Bhat called Murthy and was assured that his problem could be cured.
(Source: Deccan Herald)
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