Raichur:

The wife of a man who committed suicide has sent her mangalsutra to Home Minister G Parameshwara on Thursday, demanding action against the staff of a microfinance company who allegedly drove her husband to take his own life.

The mangalsutra is a sacred thread worn by married Hindu women to symbolise their marital status and bond with their husbands.

Parvathi, the widow, has claimed that the staff members of the microfinance company harassed and tortured her husband, Sharanabasava, leading to his death. She has demanded immediate action against those responsible. Local organisations have also come forward to support her cause.

She had also met the Superintendent of Police of Raichur district and submitted a memorandum regarding the incident.

Sharanabasava reportedly died by suicide on January 17 by consuming poison in his village of Kapagal, near Manvi town in Raichur district. His family alleged that he was subjected to daily harassment by the microfinance company staff.

The man who died, who worked as a cab driver and labourer, had taken a loan of Rs 8 lakh from private microfinance companies. Unable to pay a few EMIs, he was allegedly harassed by their staff. Locals stated that many individuals in the region are on the run due to similar harassment by microfinance lenders.

Responding to the issue of torture by microfinance companies, Home Minister G. Parameshwara stated on Thursday in Udupi that microfinance companies are pressuring customers, engaging in physical assault, and seizing properties.

“There is no legal provision for such acts. If a police complaint is lodged, action will be taken,” he assured.

Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, H.D. Kumaraswamy, has urged the Congress-led Karnataka government to take appropriate action in this matter.

Sources have confirmed that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has called for a meeting on this issue on January 25 in Bengaluru.

Reports suggest that Deputy Commissioners’ offices across the state are flooded with petitions seeking government intervention to stop the harassment by microfinance companies. In Belagavi district alone, 2.71 lakh applications have been submitted. Other districts with significant petition numbers include Bagalkot (89,037), Vijayapura (75,000), Mandya (42,500), Gadag (41,116), Dharwad (36,489), Ramanagar (33,326), Hassan (24,556), and Chikkaballapura (22,054).

Former Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai has accused the Congress-led state government of losing control over microfinance institutions (MFIs), leading to widespread harassment of vulnerable citizens.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara earlier acknowledged the issue, stating that the Finance Department must act against MFIs operating without proper licenses.

“We are not fully aware of unlicensed microfinance companies in the state, but the Finance Department must intervene,” Parameshwara said on Wednesday. He assured that complaints from affected people would prompt immediate action and investigation.

The minister also noted recent incidents linked to MFI harassment. “A woman in Tiptur town of Tumakuru district committed suicide due to harassment by MFIs. Similar cases have been reported in and around Tumakuru. We have registered cases and initiated legal action,” he said.

Parameshwara stressed the need for preventive measures but admitted that proactive monitoring is challenging.

“Guidelines exist for microfinance businesses, but violations, especially by unregistered entities, cause problems. Innocent people often invest their money and get trapped. Whenever such violations come to our notice, we will act decisively,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bengaluru:

A Blue Corner notice, seeking information about Prajwal Revanna, the MP accused of sex crimes, has been issued by the Central Bureau of Information. Prajwal Revenna is said to be in Germany, where he went using a diplomatic passport, after rape allegations against him became public last week amid the general election.

Confirming the Blue Corner notice, Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara said the investigators will now locate him. “After that, the SIT will do the procedures and bring him here… Once it is all over there will be further action,” he told NDTV in an exclusive interview.

The grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, the MP holds the family turf of Hassan.  The police case against Mr Revanna was filed on the complaint of a woman who claimed she had been abused for years by the MP and his father, HD Revanna.

Prajwal Revanna’s lawyer has denied any wrongdoing on his part. He has also said the MP will be back in seven days.

The matter has morphed into a huge political row, with the BJP in alliance with Mr Devegowda’s Janata Dal Secular in Karnataka. Leaders of the BJP have distanced themselves from the matter.

Asked about JDS chief HD Kumaraswamy’s comment that it is “all planned” by the Congress government, Mr Parameswara said, “It is not necessary for us. For the government it is not necessary. Somebody gives a complaint and police act accordingly”.

The state, he added, has formed a Special Investigation Team “because of the seriousness of the case, and given them full freedom to do justice”.

Bengaluru:

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara has said that sleuths investigating the March 1 blast at the city’s popular eatery ‘The Rameshwaram Cafe’ have “in a way” identified the suspect, and efforts are on to nab him.

He said the investigators are verifying the suspect’s identity and are “getting closer to him.” Investigation into the blast, caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), at the quick-service eatery in Brookefield area in information technology corridor in east Bengaluru that left ten people injured, is being carried by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is being assisted by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Bengaluru police.

“Investigations are going on, we are closing in, in a way who the person (Suspect) is has been identified. It has to be confirmed and he has to be nabbed. They are doing it, NIA is doing it, and CCB is doing it with them. They have got good leads,” Parameshwara told reporters here.

On the trail of the suspect, the sleuths investigating the case had visited Tumakuru, Ballari, and Kalaburagi.

NIA has announced Rs 10 lakh cash reward for information leading to the arrest of the bomber, and also released CCTV pictures and videos of the suspect.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Bengaluru:

Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara on Sunday said business rivalry, impending elections and terrorising investors coming to Bengaluru in view of a stable government in the state are some of the angles which the police are working on to crack relating to the blast at a city eatery.

The explosion took place at Rameshwaram Cafe in Brookefield in East Bengaluru on Friday.

A man wearing a cap, mask and glasses is the prime suspect in the case and is still untraceable,

READ | Bengaluru Blast Suspect Caught On CCTV With Bag That Allegedly Had Bomb

According to him, eight teams are working to crack the case and they are accompanied by the National Investigation Agency, National Security Group (NSG) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) are assisting the teams.

Mr Parameshwara said one of the angles being probed was to see if it was to terrorise Bengaluru in view of the impending elections. “Elections are approaching. If any organisation is behind it, or if there are some other motives behind it to terrorise people to make Bengaluru look unsafe…,” the Minister added.

“As many investors are coming here in view of a stable government, this might have been done either to stop investors from coming to Bengaluru or due to some other unknown reasons,” Mr Parameshwara said.

The Minister said business rivals might have done it out of jealousy. That is one of the angles, which is also being discussed.

He said The Rameshwaram Cafe has 11 units and the owners were planning to set up their 12th unit, for which an advance deposit was also paid.

“We will crack it (the case). We will not leave it. However difficult this case may be, our department will bust it,” he asserted.

The Minister appealed to people to rely only on the statements issued by him, police and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and not on speculative ones.

To a question related to a pressure cooker blast in Mangaluru on November 19, 2022, Mr Parameshwara said there was a similar assemblage of explosives and other equipment as was in the incident in Mangaluru but that comparison doesn’t mean the same gang was behind the blast at Rameshwaram Cafe.

“The way the battery and timer have been used seems similar. We have to take it (investigation) forward. We don’t know whether the same organisation did it or the same people did it,” the Minister said.

READ | “Suspect Had Rava Idli And Left The Bag”: Bengaluru Cafe Owner To NDTV On Blast

He also said it was a low-intensity bomb as the explosives used were of low intensity and even the quantity might be less.

If the quantity was more then the intensity would have been higher, he observed.

According to him, there could have been casualties if the bomb had gone off horizontally and not vertically. “I too visited…and saw bolts and nails there. They all went up. If they had gone off horizontally then many people would have got hurt. It could have caused deaths too. Luckily all of them went up…,” Mr Parameshwara explained.

Speaking about the suspect, the Minister said police have procured about 40 to 50 CCTV footages.

“There is information that he came by bus… 26 buses passed there around that time. We went through all the 26 buses. We have found the bus on which he travelled. He was wearing a cap, mask, and glasses. We are not getting clarity there as well,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)