1. Terror module busted in Bengaluru; huge cache of firearms recovered
In a joint operation, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) officials busted a suspected terror module and arrested five suspects who were allegedly planning to carry out subversive activities in and around the city. The accused were nabbed at Sultanpalya in RT Nagar where they had gathered for a meeting.
The accused — Syed Suhel Khan, 24, Mohammed Umar, 29, Zahid Tabarej, 25, Syed Mudaseer Pasha, 28, and Mohammed Fazil, 30 — were working as mechanics and drivers. They were arrested by R.T. Nagar police in 2017 in connection with the kidnap and murder of a businessman, Noor Ahmed, along with the prime accused Junaid Ahmed.
The group was radicalised by LeT operative T. Nazir, who was arrested in connection with the 2008 serial bomb blast in Bengaluru. The accused came in contact with him while serving their sentence in the Central prison at Parappana Agrahara in the city, according to sources in the police.
The accused had planned to carry out blasts in four places in Bengaluru. Based on intel inputs, the CCB arrested them and also recovered seven country-made pistols, 42 rounds of ammunition and two phones, and several SIM cards from them.
2. Deputing IAS officers for Opposition meet: House plunges into chaos as BJP members protest
The State Budget session proceedings in the Legislative Assembly were disrupted on Wednesday amid ruckus and protests by the entire Opposition over deputing of 30 serving IAS officers to receive political leaders who attended the meeting of Opposition parties in Bengaluru on July 17 and 18.
The House witnessed unruly scenes after BJP members staged a dharna in the well of the House and indulged in sloganeering seeking an apology from the Congress government. They tore the papers and Bills and tossed them at Deputy Speaker Rudrappa Lamani, who was in the Chair.
Denying the allegation, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said such a move was not unprecedented and IAS officers had been deployed similarly during H.D. Kumaraswamy’s regime as well. Attacking the Opposition for making an issue out of trivial things, he said, “People who are not able to even elect Leader of Opposition are indulging in such drama.”
3. CID to probe murder of Jain monk in Belagavi
Karnataka government has ordered a probe by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) into the murder of a Digambar Jain monk in Belagavi. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced in the legislative Assembly that the CID will probe the murder of Acharya Kamakumara Nandi Maharaj on July 6. The body was found on July 8.
4. Cop takes wheel after BMTC bus driver falls ill mid-journey in Bengaluru
A police officer went beyond his call of duty by not only helping a BMTC driver who fell ill at the wheel, but also driving the bus to clear the way for the movement of other vehicles. The incident occurred earlier this week around 11.45 a.m.
A driver on the Shivajinagar-Kadugodi route fell ill in the middle of the journey and halted the bus near the Command Hospital on HAL Airport Road. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ramachandra D. from Halasuru, who was assigned security duties there, not only made arrangements to shift the driver to Bowring Hospital but also drove the bus from ASC Centre & College to Artillery Road.
