Bangalore: Next time you plan to fly on an e-ticket, make sure it is booked by a genuine agent.

The Corps of Detectives (CoD) Cyber Crime Police have unearthed an airline e-ticketing racket in the city.

The racket came to light when a bank lodged a complaint with the Cyber Crime Police about irregularities in e-ticketing system on Monday. The complaint comes close on the heels of similar cases reported in Delhi and Mumbai.

Five persons from Bangalore - Nadeem Ahmed, Nasirullah Khan, Shamsuddin, Safir Sayeed, Samiullah Khan alias Nayaz Ahmed - have been arrested in this connection. Two of them were involved in taking printouts of e-tickets, while the other three were courier boys who delivered them to customers.

Addressing mediapersons on Wednesday, Mr K R Srinivasan, Director General of Police, CoD, revealed that the culprits generated e-tickets using faked credit card numbers and passwords. “The customers believed them and made payments in cash. When the original credit card owners’ denied buying air tickets, several banks who provided these services had to suffer losses to the tune of several lakhs of rupees,” he said.

Modus operandi

Explaining their modus operandi, Mr Srinivasan said the desperados had managed to get a list of regular air travellers, whom they would approach and convince that they would book tickets at concessional rates. “The e-tickets would be delivered to the customer, who would submit it at the airline counter and collect genuine air tickets,” he explained.

Interrogation of the arrested failed to reveal any significant information about the racket as they were only at the tail end of it, he stated.

A search for the kingpin is currently on. Investigations are also being carried out to find out how the culprits laid hands on the credit card numbers and passwords.

Though the magnitude of the fake e-ticketing business is yet to be ascertained, preliminary reports from banks suggest an irregularity of Rs 22 lakh in 20 days, said Mr Srinivasan. During the verification of one flight departing from Bangalore, the CoD officers found at least 19 passengers travelling on fake e-tickets, he added.

New Delhi: CM, wife coo with childlike delight after Delhi Metro ride
 
“I think Metro Rail is the best alternative for the problems faced by the commuters of Bangalore City.”

Thus wrote Chief Minister H D Kumaaraswamy in the visitors’ opinion book of Delhi Metro after a ride on the Capital’s state-of—the—art urban transport system on Wednesday.

Mr Kumaaraswamy, who travelled on different routes of the Metro – both underground section and on the surface – categorically told mediapersons that he was committed to getting the Metro for Bangalore. He said he would leave no stone unturned to get it fast.

The chief minister was accompanied by wife Anitha, who too returned impressed after the one hour Metro ride as she remarked: “I am impressed for it is fast, minimises delay and accidents besides reducing congestion on the roads.”

Mr Kumaaraswamy was briefed by Delhi Metro Managing Director E Sreedharan. “I was told by Mr Sreedharan, who made all this possible for Delhi, that it will not be a burden on the common man. Having travelled on the London Metro several times and now the Delhi Metro, I am convinced that it is of great use to the people. We are interested in providing the best urban transport to the people of Bangalore.

Mr Sreedharan and his team have done wonderful work and he said his help will always be available for Bangalore.” The chief minister, who boarded the Metro at Central Secretariat and travelled on the underground section till Connaught Place, experienced the overground travel till Karol Bagh and back. “I know people spend a lot of time in travelling from their homes to their workplace and back. Metro saves time.”

When pressed whether he would opt for the Metro as against Mono Rail – which his father H D Deve Gowda wanted – the chief minister said: “If the Metro is the best suited system, then we will indeed have it. However, we can consider other systems which can support the Metro later. I am not opposed to Metro. I am open about it”.

He said he was awaiting the decision of the Group of Ministers (GoM) which was going into couple of issues regarding Bangalore Metro. “We will start work immediately after that,” he added.

Meanwhile, the GoM meeting, headed by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, remained inconclusive. It is likely to hold a second and possibly the final meeting on March 1.

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) Managing Director K N Srivatsava, who made a presentation at the meeting, said four issues were discussed: Whether the Metro is a Central or a state subject; if it is Central, would it come under the Railway Ministry or the Urban Development Ministry (UD); who should certify safety; and what gauge the Metro should have — standard or broad gauge (BG).

Mr Srivatsava told the meeting that since urban transport was a state subject, the Metro should also be a state subject. Arguing that the Metro should be constructed under the Tramways Act, Mr Srivatsava said while the Tramways Act was for intra-city transport, the Railways Act was for inter-city transport. He said the Metro should have standard gauge (SG) as it saves cost by Rs 517 crore, reduces land requirement and allows sharp curves to be taken. Of the 105 Metros around the world, 73 have SG and in the last one decade, all cities have followed SG except the Delhi Metro which has BG because of the Railway Ministry’s insistence. He urged the meeting to give its recommendations at the earliest since the BMRC was losing Rs 80 lakh per day because of the delay.

Mr Sreedharan, who was present at the meeting, strongly favoured SG for Bangalore and added that he would offer all co-operation.

Bangalore: Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, who holds the Finance portfolio, said on Wednesday that the State budget will not burden the common man with higher taxes.

It will not be a deficit budget, he told presspersons here. It will be a balanced budget that will give relief to the rural poor and provide for the development of urban centres with an emphasis on Bangalore.

Asked whether he will announce any new measures to provide relief to farmers, Mr. Yediyurappa said there is no question of waiving cooperative loans.

The Government has extended loans to them at six per cent interest. Farmers have repaid loans of Rs. 2,000 crores utilising the waiver of interest and they have become eligible for fresh loans, he added.

Mr. Yediyurappa said his first budget will prepare the ground for mobilisation of higher revenue. His priority will be to stop tax evasion and pilferage in collection of taxes. Efforts will be made to collect arrears from excise contractors, he added.

He hinted that he will make some important changes in the system of allocating funds to government departments. All of them are used to spending their allocations at the end of the financial year, and this gives room for corruption and lack of quality of works.

Therefore, it is planned to release funds on a quarterly basis, he added.

He said funds for April-June will be released immediately after the budget presentation. He reiterated his resolve to increase revenue from the Excise Department by curbing sale of liquor and arrack "seconds" and "thirds". On the demand for regularising encroachment of government land, Mr. Yediyurappa said 90 per cent of encroachments are by the poor and landless agricultural labourers, and they need not fear that they will be evicted, he said.

The Deputy Chief Minister said he will not succumb to pressure from any lobby and will work for the welfare of the poor. The common agenda for governance will be based on the manifesto of the ruling parties — the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (Secular) — and the Governor's speech and the budget will reflect them.

Mr. Yediyurappa said the BJP and the Janata Dal (S) have good relations. The people will realise the results of efficient governance in about six months, he added.

Bangalore: Karnataka's poultry sector has lost an estimated Rs 20 crore to Rs 25 crore in three days following fall in prices and consumption of chicken due to the 'bird-flu' scare, an industry official said.

From a level of Rs 35 to Rs 40 a kg, chicken prices have slumped to Rs 15 to Rs 18, according to Chairman of Karnataka Hatcheries Association P S Nandakumar, who added that the "backlog" of eggs is expected to mount in the coming days.

He estimates the size of the poultry sector in the State to be around Rs 1,870 crore annually, with chicken accounting for Rs 600 crore and eggs Rs 420 crore, among others. Offtake of chicken annually is pegged at 1,920 lakh kgs and annual production of eggs is 300 crore, Nandakumar said.

Vice-Chancellor of Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University, Dr R N Srinivasa Gowda said there is no need to panic. Karnataka hasn't reported a single case of 'bird-flu', officials noted.

"Bird-to-human contamination is rare", Gowda said. "As much as 95 per cent of the birds are caged, minimising the contamination".

Mumbai, Feb 22:  The Devadiga Sangha here reently accorded a warm welcome to  and felicitated Administrative Reforms Commission chairman and former Karnataka CM Marpady Veerappa Moily upon his first visit to the Sangha after taking up his new assignment.

U Dharmapal, president of the Sangha, welcomed Moily at the Santacruz airport.

Also present on the occasion were S K Shriyan, vice-president, K Mohandas and P Ramesh, Anand Devadiga, H Mohan and other office-bearers

Mumbai: The initial culling operation was restricted to three-km radius in Nawapur as per the WHO guidelines, which would be extended further to the 10 kilometres.
 
The culling of over 1.5 lakh chickens in Nawapur, Maharashtra, which reported the first case of bird flu in the country, was completed on Tuesday night and the authorities will commence culling of birds within 10 km radius of the remote township.

The initial culling operation was restricted to three-km radius in Nawapur as per the WHO guidelines, which would be extended further to the 10 kilometres. The state Animal Husbandry Minister Anees Ahmed, who is camping at Nawapur, is personally overseeing the culling process.

Mr Ahmed had on Saturday stated that the birds in 10-km radius will first be vaccinated, and if that process failed, they will be eliminated.

However, in the last three days, the entire concentration of the official machinery was in

Nawapur and 19 villages including Uchchala in three-km radius on the Maharashtra-Gujarat border. The entire 10-km radius area of Nawapur is estimated to have chickens numbering around a million, all of which now will be culled.

The officials will start scrutinising the account books of the poultry farms to assess the losses suffered by the poultry owners and the retailers. Among the farms which were cleansed was that of senior state minister Swarupsingh Naik, whose farm had over 45,000 birds.

Although the birds have been killed, it will take at least two to three months to completely sterilise the area of the deadly H5N1 virus. The silver lining is that it is the onset of summer with temperatures rising to around 40 degrees, in which the virus usually does not survive. According to experts, the bird flu virus cannot survive in temperatures beyond 39 degrees.

Till Tuesday night, a total of 1.5 lakh birds were eliminated through the culling operation, which does not include birds killed by the private farm owners themselves. In addition to the birds, around 1.58 lakh eggs too were destroyed.

No chicken soup for body or soul

Flu spread stopped, 223,000 chickens culled, another 100,000 to go.

Farms being cleared of feed, manure, droppings.

Compensation: Rs 40 for a broiler chicken and Rs 10 for a chick, shared 50:50 by Central, state govts.

Another 3 months for farmers to resume operations.

Armed forces drop chicken from menu.

Mumbai: Sudheer Nonia’s body finally arrived at Mumbai airport at 2.45 am yesterday, 14 days after he was killed in a ship off the coast of the UAE.

The coffin reached his house in Nerul at 6.45 am. His mother Motiba and sister broke down when they saw the coffin.

Says Motiba, “He was supposed to get married next year and his unexpected death has left us all bereft.”

Beaten up before death

Sudheer’s death certificate has confirmed that he was murdered. It mentions that he was beaten by a solid object and died due to a fracture in the skull, haemorrhage, neurological shock and severe contusions.

Says Sudheer’s close friend Therot Anthony, “It was an emotional moment for us when we read his death certificate provided by the UAE police. I don’t know what he went through on the ship on February 6. We are also groping in the dark about why he was killed.”

Family clueless

Adds Anthony, “We were clueless on the body’s arrival and what compensation would be given to the family till Sunday. The company, Genoa Maritime, was maintaining a stark silence and whatever information we got was from media reports.”

In absence of proper information, the family had to go all the way to the shipping company’s local office to get information on his body. Says PK Purshottam another friend of Sudheer, “Twelve days after his death, Genoa sent Captain Sunil Bhadukar to the UAE to get police clearance to bring back Sudheer’s body.”

Compensation

No company representative was present at the airport. However, during the funeral, Bachchulal Gupta, an agent who had sent Sudheer abroad, came to console the family.

Reacting to the compensation issue, Gupta says, “Officials from the headquarters of Genoa Maritime in Norway were in Mumbai and UAE to probe the death. The compensation could run into lakhs, but the family will have to wait for the legal hassles to get over.”
Short-tempered captain 

Speaking on captain Jitendra Malhotra, who is behind bars in UAE along with seven crew members, Gupta said, “The captain is known to be short tempered, but I cannot say anything beyond that.”

The funeral was attended by local corporators along with hundreds of people from neighbouring buildings. Says Shiv Sena corporator Vijay Mane (of ward no 78), “We will help the family financially and provide a job to Sudheer’s younger brothers.”

Sudheer was the only breadwinner in his family and his younger brothers Sunil and Shyam are still studying.

Mumbai: More than two months after he was operated on for intestinal problems and advised rest by doctors, superstar Amitabh Bachchan recorded a song for his forthcoming film Babul, sources said here on Tuesday.

"He is taking it gradually and not straining himself. He recorded a song for Ravi Chopra's Babul recently and will begin dubbing for another film. He will take time to get back to his original workload," they said.

The 63-year-old actor underwent a successful surgery for infection, inflammation and perforation in his small and large intestines at Leelavati hospital here on November 30.

The superstar's illness had thrown the entire film industry in a whirl, with producers and directors as well as legions of fans praying fervently for Bachchan's speedy recovery.

Many projects including the popular Kaun Banega Crorepati television series had been stalled following his sudden illness.

New Delhi: The new chief minister, on his second visit to New Delhi, will on Wednesday morning take a personal look at the way the world-class Delhi Metro is run.
 
Is Chief Minister H D Kumaaraswamy taking a pro-Metro rail stand?

Official sources say he is. The new chief minister, on his second visit to New Delhi, will on Wednesday morning take a personal look at the way the world-class Delhi Metro is run.

During his Metro ride, Mr Kumaaraswamy will have a chance to chat up with Delhi Metro Managing Director E Sreedharan, popularly called the “Metro Man”. He will embark on the Metro at the Central Secretariat station and travel to Connaught Place two stations away. After this, in all probability, he would make up his mind whether the JD(S)-BJP government should go in for the Metro or not.

The chief minister has not aired his thoughts on whether he would favour the Metro or its rival Mono. He had said on February 15 that the government would take a final decision shortly and start work immediately after that. However, if official sources are to be believed, Mr Kumaaraswamy is likely to vote for the Metro which has transformed the way people travel in parts of Delhi.

The chief minister is said to be of the opinion that he was all for the Metro and wants it to come up in Bangalore fast as a relief from the messy infrastructure and the traffic gridlock.

Politically, a decision in favour of the Metro would help the young chief minister to come out of the shadow of his father H D Deve Gowda. The JD(S) president has steadfastly opposed the Metro while favouring mono rail which has not been found favour with the Union Government. This would also give an opportunity to Mr Kumaaraswamy to show that he can take decisions independently, which is against the stated stand pursued by his father who had written many letters to the prime minister, the finance minister and the Planning Commission deputy chairman opposing the Metro.

The Metro has gone far in obtaining major approvals from the Union Government. The Rs 6,000-crore project has been approved by the Public Investment Board from the funding point of view and has been referred to the Group of Ministers which is slated to meet here on Wednesday. The GoM would go specifically into two issues: the legal cover and the type of gauge (track) required for the Bangalore Metro — broadgauge or standard gauge. Chaired by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, the GoM consists of Union ministers P Chidambaram, Laloo Prasad Yadav, Jaipal Reddy and the Plan panel’s M S Ahluwalia. The UTI Bank, the lead bank which has made a financial appraisal of the project, has agreed to raise Rs 3,200 crore. As for guarantees, there is none from the government but there will, however, be an escrow cover. The bankers have agreed to it.

TOWNSHIP FOR IT SECTOR

Bangalore, DHNS:

The State Government is planning to create four to five integrated townships in the State to cater to professionals of the IT and BPO sectors. Briefing reporters after a meeting with NASSCOM President Kiran Karnik, Chief Minister H D Kumaaraswamy on Tuesday said the State’s townships would be part of a plan devised for 12 integrated townships across the country.

“The towns earmarked for the projects will be identified soon,” he said. The Chief Minister quoted NASSCOM figures and said software export revenues from the State were tipped to be $US 20 billion by 2010, as against a national figure of $US 60 billion.

Mumbai: A special court on Tuesday remanded suspended police officer Daya Nayak and his alleged associate Rajendra Padte to the custody of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) till March one in a disproportionate assets case.

After Nayak and Padte were arrested on Monday, they were produced in Additional Sessions Judge S P Mahajan's court around 3 pm on Tuesday for obtaining police custody.

Public prosecutor R V Kiny argued that ever since ACB had filed the FIR against Nayak on January 20, the sleuths never got any opportunity to conduct further investigations, let alone a chance to question Nayak, due to the month-long legal battle which extended up to the apex court.

The defence lawyer did not make elaborate arguments but objected to the prosecution's demand of 14-day police custody, saying that it was inordinately long.

Prosecutor Kiny later told reporters outside the court that among other things, the ACB would be probing the source of donations to a school set up by Nayak at his native village in Karnataka.

It would also be looking into a case registered in Malad police station by owner of the hotel 'Aangan' against Nayak, alleging that the latter had forcibly taken possession of the hotel.

Kiny said that the ACB would also be looking into the suicide case of one Annappa Shetty, who in his suicide note allegedly wrote that Nayak should not be allowed to touch his body.

Nayak allegedly owed him Rs 16 lakh, Kiny said.

In accordance with the High Court's orders, ACB is providing Nayak with a separate cell at the Bhoiwada lock-up facility.

He would also be allowed to partake of home-cooked food and medicines, apart from a daily medical check-up. Nayak's lawyers have also been allowed to meet him for half-an-hour every day.