Bengaluru Gets Pink Hoysalas for Women Safety

Bengaluru women can heave a sigh of relief, as the state govt finally seems to have woken up to the deteriorating law and order situation in the city, especially considering women's safety.

A fleet of pink Hoysala patrolling vehicles aimed at improving women’s safety were launched launched earlier this week by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru. These pink vehicles, armed with GPS and cameras will be deployed at sensitive locations with three women staff in each. Aimed as an emergency response team these would help people in distress through the ‘Suraksha’ App or whenever complaint are received through police control room.

Bengaluru Police believes that in addition to the existing fleet of over 200 Hoysalas used for general patrolling, the new 24/7 pink patrol would add moral support to women. However, there may not be any net addition to the overall patrol vehicles as the new ones are said to be replacing old ‘Abhaya’ vehicles.

- Karnataka Express Bureau.

What’s So Special about D-Mart?

Radhakishan Damani

The latest blockbuster to hit Indian stock markets is not any hi-tech start-up with a whole new disruptive technology. It’s a retail chain called Avenue Supermarts, promoted by one of India’s well known investors Radhakishan Damani.  Upon listing on the 21^st March, the shares of Avenue Supermarts, which owns and operates the retail stores, had beaten all other retail chains in the world like the Tesco, Costco and Walmart.

From the issue price of 299, the stock saw over 100% gains on the listing day itself, catapulting its founder Damani into the top 20 richest Indians, overtaking even Anil Ambani. Even after two weeks after listing, the buying interest in the stock hasn’t abated even a little. Many are wondering what’s so special about a company which runs another chain of retail stores in the already crowded marketplace with big names such as Reliance Retail, Future Group, Tatas and Birlas ! The answer may lie in the way D-Mart has carefully avoided the mistakes committed by the others.

There are several factors where D-Mart has successfully minimized the risks. One of the major factors observed by analysts is that it owns most of the properties, reducing lease-rental costs. Another, probably the most important, is that D-Mart has avoided rapid expansion in its initial years, and stuck to sales of fast moving goods, which allowed it to maintain a healthy balance sheet.  With its operating expertise and dedicated customer base which keeps returning for the attractive discounts, D-Mart has been highly profitable compared to other retail chains. In fact, its compounded growth rate in last 3 years has been a phenomenal 35 % while big names worldwide struggle to achieve the double digit mark.

D-Mart

Though there is consensus among experts that Avenue Supermarts will be able to sustain its profitability and growth rate, they caution investors against rushing to buy at these astronomical valuations and suggest waiting for some dips, especially for those who haven’t been lucky to get IPO allotments. 

- Karnataka Express Bureau.

Black Money Crackdown Continues, IT Raids Across the Country

More than 100 Crores in black money was unearthed in IT raids across the country, which began after the declaration window under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana closed on March 31. Several premises of an Ahmedabad-based business group is said to have been the target of  the first set of raids carried out at 50 different locations across the country.

In the latest raids conducted in Tamilnadu, which included the premises of health minister C Vijayabaskar, over 5 crore cash and several incriminating documents having reference to the upcoming by-poll in RK Nagar were also seized. 

IT Raids in Chennai

The crackdown revealed that the amount of money distributed in RK Nagar could be as high as 100 crores.  Politicians, especially the Sasikala faction, has called the raids as political conspiracy, while the opposition DMK seized the opportunity to target Vijayabaskar, demanding his resignation.

The income tax department had been urging all black money holders through a series of advertisements, giving a last opportunity to avail a voluntary declaration scheme through PMGKY to come clean.  It had also cautioned that defaulters would face stringent action and that the names would also be shared with ED and other investigative agencies.

- Karnataka Express Bureau.

New Train between Bengaluru and Mangaluru, 'Kudla Express' Starts Tomorrow

There’s good news for Karnataka’s rail travelers. A new express train will begin operations from April 9 between Bengaluru and Mangaluru. Railway minister Suresh Prabhu will flag off the service via video conference from Madgaon.

 The tri-weekly train will run on the newly commissioned Bengaluru – Shravanabelagola line, reducing the travel distance by 139 KM as compared to the Bengaluru – Mysore – Hassan route.  

 Named Kudla Express, the train number 16575/16576 will depart from Yeshwantpur at 7.50 am on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and will arrive at Mangaluru Junction at 5.30 pm on the same day. From Mangaluru the train will depart at 11.30 am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, arriving at Yeshwantpur at 8.30 pm on the same day. The train will have seven chair cars and five second class coaches.

- Karnataka Express Bureau.

A 'Mediotic' Tale of Two CMs – Kejriwal and Yogi

The contrast between two most talked about CMs couldn’t have been starker. One, a media darling, projected as the savior of the aam admi, crusader against corruption. And the other, projected as a right wing militant who would destroy the state, pushing it back to the stone age!

CM  Arvind Kejriwal

In three years as CM, Kejriwal has proved that he’s a complete fraud and a failure as a CM, coming nowhere close to the brand image that was built on Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption platform. The signs were there to see from the beginning of his tenure, when founder members and well known anti-corruption activists were thrown out of Kejriwal’s party so that there would be no one to question his autocracy.  What followed in last two years has been a nightmare for the voters of Delhi. Ask anyone, it’s a lesson they will not forget soon.

Kejriwal and his supporters used frivolous arguments as defense against numerous cases of corruption involving ministers and party members. However, all these fell apart completely after the latest report from the Shunglu committee exposed them. From using taxpayer money for his party advertisements to lavish foreign trips while his state was facing dengue and garbage crisis to zero action on his sky high promises, the media’s erstwhile blue eyed boy has failed the people of Delhi in every aspect. Accusations of nepotism and of rewarding party workers with plum posts are just a few examples of how Kejriwal and his cronies feel they can get away with anything under the garb of ‘aam admi’. In spite of the recent drubbing in Goa and clear signs that people have realized their folly, Kejriwal’s claim that govt should foot his bill to fight a personal criminal defamation case probably is the best example of his arrogance.

CM Yogi Adityanath

Compare this to UP’s new CM. Yogi Adityanath was portrayed as the worst choice to lead the state by the media and so called liberal thinkers who couldn’t stop speculating on worst case scenarios, just as they did in 2014 after Modi was made the NDA PM candidate. But Yogi has swung into action right from the word go and is working on fulfilling his promises one after the other. Not even a month has passed after he was sworn in, the saffron wearing straight talking CM has made his priorities clear – steps for women safety, crackdown on lethargy and corruption in public office, closure of illegal abattoirs, swach UP push, reforms in education, infrastructure and a road map for uninterrupted electricity for every household – all within a span of three weeks. And the best part is Yogi doesn’t pretend to be what he’s not. From his attire to speeches, he doesn’t seem to hide behind pretentions.

While Kejriwal claimed to be a poor, unassuming aam admi, took a complete u-turn after becoming CM to claim all the luxuries as his right and forgetting all about his promises, it still remains to be seen what power does to Yogi. Looking at the simple village lifestyle of his family members and the focus and urgency shown so far towards the development of UP, Yogi clearly seems to be far better as a leader and administrator than not only his Delhi counterpart, but also from what the media tried to tell the world.

- Karnataka Express Bureau.

More Trouble for Tainted Guru Despite Cow Gimmicks

Tainted havyaka guru Raghaveshwara Bharathi of Ramachandrapura Mutt has been trying to regain followers by various tactics. He was in news recently through a movement for the protection of cows, especially the indigenous variety.

However, many observers say that his gimmicks are not helping him escape the law in serious rape cases he’s facing. Recently he suffered a major setback when the blackmail case filed by the mutt’s devotees was dismissed by the police as baseless and lacking any proof.

In 2014, Raghaveshwara Bharathi was accused of multiple accounts of rape by a famous artiste who used to be part of Ramkatha events organised by the mutt. Just before the rape complaint was filed, Raghveshwara’s team had tried to intimidate the artiste by filing a case of blackmail against her husband and even managed to get the couple arrested without bail for almost a month, under suspicious circumstances.

A second case of rape had been filed by a 25-year-old havyaka woman in 2015, who alleged that the guru sexually abused her between 2006 and 2012, when she was still in school. In her complaint, the woman said she didn’t have the courage to complain earlier as Raghaveshwara had threatened her of dire consequences if she told anybody about it. For unknown reasons, the second case has not seen any progress after initial reports of the case which was filed with the help of a women’s organization in Bengaluru.

Raghaveshwara Bharathi

Raghaveshwara’s supporters have accused almost every agency involved in the case of conspiring against their guru. They accused the CID for finding evidence of the crime, the police for filing a charge sheet, and even the Chief Justice of High Court, in what appeared to be a pre-emptive strike of sorts. Initially 5 judges had recused from the case which is in High Court now after the sessions court dismissed rape allegations despite admitting that there was enough evidence to prove that the accused had sexual intercourse with the complainant. 

Raising several eyebrows, the lower court verdict strangely mentioned that the sexual acts were consensual, despite the complainant clearly stating she was coerced and threatened by the powerful seer who wields a lot of influence in the community.

- Karnataka Express Bureau.

Bengaluru Prison Flouts Rules for VIP Prisoner Sasikala

Bengaluru Central Jail

Authorities in Parappana Agrahara jail in Bengaluru have thrown rules to the wind in the case of their VIP ‘guest’ inmate from the neighboring state of Tamilnadu. According to a report in the TOI, prison authorities are said have allowed 28 visitors on 14 occasions in a span of 31 days, which is a blatant violation of rules. The rule-book says that a convicted prisoner is allowed to meet visitors from family, relatives and advocates only once in 15 days, that too just for 10 minutes from behind bars within the prison complex. But Sasikala was provided a private place and most of her meetings were said to have lasted over half an hour.

Shashikala

The high profile AIADMK leader is currently serving a four-year prison term after being convicted in a disproportionate assets case.  Prison records showed that the convict no. 9234 was allowed to meet 28 visitors between Feb 16 and March 18 in a special area, mostly in private. They said it was under pressure from higher authorities. In addition to relatives and advocates, her visitors include AIADMK party leaders and even politicians from Andhra Pradesh with business interests in TN.

Though the DG (Prisons), Sathyanarayana Rao has so far denied any special privileges given to Sasikala, it appears that it’s business as usual for the political leader from Tamilnadu, without any hindrance within the secure walls of Parappana Agrahara. 

- Karnataka Express Bureau.