Puttur: Police have registered seven cases against web news portals and social media accounts for allegedly spreading communally provocative content linked to an incident at Purusharakatte in Puttur on July 8. All cases were booked under Section 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, at Puttur City Police Station. The outlets include Putturu Chavadi Instagram, Hosadiganta, Zoomintv.online, newsfocuskannada.com, Udayavani, Prakharanews.com, and the Karnataka Portfolio Twitter handle. Police said the platforms misrepresented facts of the July 8 incident and portrayed it as a Hindu- Muslim clash, thereby disturbing communal harmony. Cases were registered based on complaints from local residents. The Dakshina Kannada police have warned of strict action against similar attempts to inflame communal tensions. Investigation is in progress.

Home dept

refuses sanction, 4 cops dropped

from scam case

Bengaluru: Four police officers accused in the Karnataka Bitcoin scam have been dropped from the case after the Home Department refused to grant sanction for filing a chargesheet. The officers are DySP Sridhar Poojar, Police Inspector Chandradhar, Police Inspector D.M. Prashanth Babu and Police Inspector Lakshmikanthaiah. The CID SIT, which was investigating the case, has now submitted a B-Report to the court, effectively closing the proceedings against the four officers. The allegations against them involved illegal transfer of Bitcoins worth Rs. 1.83 crore through international hacker Sriki. It was claimed that the officers, along with cyber expert Santosh Kumar, had misused the crypto wallets belonging to Sriki and Robin Khandewal. Under existing rules, prior sanction from the Home Department is mandatory before filing a chargesheet against government officers. Since the department rejected the proposal for prosecution sanction, the CID SIT had no option but to submit the B-Report and remove the four officers from the case. The investigation against the main accused, cyber expert Santosh Kumar, is continuing. Strong evidence has been gathered against him regarding the illegal transfer of Bitcoins from Robin Khandewal’s wallet, involvement in cheating and tampering with evidence.

CISF jawan klled

in Mangaluru

while on leave

Mangaluru: A Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) jawan on leave was tragically killed in a road accident in Mangaluru on Wednesday, police said on Thursday. The deceased has been identified as Sitaram Gowda, a resident of Putye in Koyila village, Kadaba taluk, Dakshina Kannada district. He was posted at the Central Jail in Jammu and had returned home on leave on July 3. According to police, Gowda had visited his native village on Monday to submit documents related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. While returning towards Mangaluru, he met with a serious road accident near the KPT area in Kadri police limits. Gowda sustained critical injuries in the crash and was declared dead before he could be shifted to a hospital. The exact cause and circumstances of the accident are still under investigation. Police have registered a case and initiated further probe. The news of Gowda’s untimely death has cast a pall of gloom over his village in Koyila-Kadaba, where he was widely respected. His body is expected to be handed over to the family after the completion of post-mortem formalities. Details regarding the last rites are awaited. Gowda is survived by his family members in Dakshina Kannada.