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‘Ee sala cup namde': Drake bets Rs 6 crore on RCB ahead of IPL final against PBKS

‘Ee sala cup namde': Drake bets Rs 6 crore on RCB ahead of IPL final against PBKS

Indian Express2 days ago

Canadian rapper Drake has placed a staggering Rs 6.41 crore (approximately $750,000) bet on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to win their first Indian Premier League (IPL) title, just hours before the final showdown against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Drake shared a screenshot of his bet on Instagram via the crypto-betting platform Stake, revealing his support for RCB. With odds of 1.75, the rapper stands to win over Rs 11.11 crore (around $1.3 million) if Rajat Patidar's side clinches the trophy. His post was captioned with RCB's iconic slogan 'Ee sala cup namde,' leaving fans — especially in North America, where cricket remains a niche sport — both surprised and amused.
A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi)
RCB are eyeing their first IPL crown since the tournament's inception in 2008. They'll face the PBKS squad led by Shreyas Iyer, who are also chasing their maiden title. Tuesday night's clash will mark the first time in three years that the IPL will see a new champion.
Both teams had been evenly matched historically, with the head-to-head record in the IPL standing at 18 wins each from their 36 encounters.
RCB secured their place in the final with a dominant win over PBKS in Qualifier 1, while Punjab made it through after edging out Mumbai Indians in a tense chase in Qualifier 2.
Much of RCB's campaign has revolved around Virat Kohli, who has amassed over 600 runs this season and remains a key figure. PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer, who captained Kolkata Knight Riders last year to a win, has been in scintillating form as well.
Last year, Drake had bet Rs 2.07 crore on KKR to win the trophy.

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Bengaluru stampede: BCCI ducks blame, CM Siddaramaiah cites Kumbh Mela and blames RCB fans, BJP targets Karnataka govt
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Bengaluru stampede: BCCI ducks blame, CM Siddaramaiah cites Kumbh Mela and blames RCB fans, BJP targets Karnataka govt

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Did I or the Karnataka government criticise?' Karnataka CM was talking about the recent stampede at Maha Kumbh mela in BJP-ruled state of Uttar Pradesh that claimed the lives at least 30 people. Also read | Bengaluru stampede: Karnataka high court takes suo motu cognisance, to hear matter today Explaining what led to the stampede at Chinaswamy stadium, he said, 'The match happened last evening (Tuesday), and today (Wednesday) this event was organised by the cricket association. No one expected such a huge crowd. The stadium has a capacity of only 35,000 people, but 2-3 lakh people came.' 'There were over 1.5 lakh people at the gates, banging and eventually breaking through in some places. The attempt to enter the stadium resulted in the stampede.' He added, 'There are small gates. The people entered through the gates. They have also broken the gates, so a stampede has taken place. Prima facie, it looks like that. I am not saying that nothing has happened. The inquiry will bring out facts.' BJP MP Tejasvi Surya criticised the Congress-led state government, accusing it of turning the celebration into a political spectacle without adequate preparation. 'The stampede was completely avoidable. It was state-orchestrated,' Surya said, alleging that an open invitation by CM Siddaramaiah on social media triggered an uncontrollable flood of fans without proper crowd and security measures in place. Also read | Bengaluru stampede: What led to deadly crush at RCB's IPL victory event? 'You cannot blame RCB, Virat Kohli, or even the fans. If there is anyone responsible, it is the CM and the deputy CM who wanted to hog undeserving limelight and made this an entire family function of the Congress leaders.' He questioned the value of the magisterial inquiry, 'Keep this 15-day report yourself in your house. Who cares? Will this 15-day magisterial report help these families?' Surya also appealed to the RCB management: 'It is the moral responsibility of RCB to also generously compensate the victims of this stampede. RCB and RCB's superstar cricketers have made hundreds of crores from the love of fans... now it is time for RCB to also be in terms of distress and challenge with the fans and their families.' Union minister HD Kumaraswamy blamed deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar directly. 'The person responsible for this tragedy must be immediately sacked from the cabinet,' he declared from New Delhi. Slamming the Congress-led administration, Kumaraswamy said, 'We have a Chief Minister who is completely inactive. He has no control over the Deputy CM... The Congress government is being run by arrogant fools.' The Board of Control for Cricket in India, meanwhile, denied any role in organising the event. IPL chairman Arun Dhumal said, 'We had no information that such an event was being planned... 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RCB!' in desperation for a glimpse of the players. While some had tickets, others with free passes reportedly forced their way in, contributing to the chaos. Deputy CM DK Shivakumar promised a detailed probe and claimed, 'We want to know the facts and give a clear message.' He also countered the BJP's attack, 'BJP is doing politics... We are very sorry for the incident. We will work out a better solution in the future.' The state cancelled all government events, including World Environment Day celebrations, in a show of mourning. Reiterating Siddaramaiah's sentiments, he said, 'We never expected such a big crowd. The stadium's capacity is 35,000, but over 3 lakh people were there. Gates have been broken. We apologise for this incident.' However, he defended the police force's efforts, saying, 'I should compliment my Police officers... they guided us not to bring a vehicle procession from the airport... we were very cautious at Vidhana Soudha too.' The tragedy unfolded rapidly on Wednesday afternoon as thousands of RCB fans thronged the M Chinnaswamy Stadium for the team's IPL victory celebration.

Karnataka Govt suspends senior IFS officer R Gokul over stand on forest land donated to HMT Ltd in Bengaluru
Karnataka Govt suspends senior IFS officer R Gokul over stand on forest land donated to HMT Ltd in Bengaluru

Indian Express

time29 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

Karnataka Govt suspends senior IFS officer R Gokul over stand on forest land donated to HMT Ltd in Bengaluru

The Karnataka Government Wednesday suspended a senior Indian Forest Service officer, R Gokul, for allegedly facilitating the handover of forest land worth nearly Rs 14,000 crore, held by the public sector company Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) in Bengaluru, to third parties, including private entities. The government issued the suspension order stating that 'in exercise of the powers under Rule 3(1) (a) of the All India Service (Discipline & Appeal) Rules, 1969, Sri R. Gokul, IFS, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests & Director General, EMPRI, Bengaluru, is placed under suspension with immediate effect, pending inquiry.' The reason for Gokul's suspension has been cited as his actions regarding the 'denotification of lands granted to HMT measuring 443 Acres 6 guntas situated at Peenya Jalahalli Plantation'. According to the government order, an interlocutory application was filed by forest officials before the Supreme Court in 2020 'without obtaining the approval of the then minister-in-charge or sanction from the state cabinet' for permission to denotify 443.6 acres of land granted to HMT at the Peenya Jalahalli Plantation. Initially, the state government issued notices to Sandeep Dave, a retired IAS officer and the former additional chief secretary for Forest, Ecology and Environment; Vijay Kumar Gogi, retired IFS officer and the former principal secretary for Forest, Ecology and Environment; Smitha Bijjur, IFS, ex-principal secretary, Forest, Ecology and Environment and Gokul. The government has reported receiving replies to the notices from three of the four officers (other than Sandeep Dave) but said that Gokul had written to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after receiving his notice 'seeking protection' in an illegal mining case from the 2010 period where he is a key witness against a mafia that was operated by political figures. The IFS officer also did not obtain permission or inform the government when he filed an 'Intervention Application (113311/2025) in the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India against IA (190307/2024 WP (C) 337/1995) filed by the State Government in the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India for withdrawal of the IA (60477/2020 in WP (C) 337/1995) related to the de-notification of lands belonging to HMT Ltd,' said the suspension order. The government order said the conduct of Gokul 'is in violation of Rule 17 of All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, and the State Government is prima facie satisfied that it is necessary' to place him under suspension with immediate effect. Last week, Karnataka Minister for Forest and Environment Eshwar Khandre announced that the government had recommended action against two serving IFS officers, one retired IFS officer, and one retired IAS officer for filing of an application in the Supreme Court 'seeking permission for denotification of HMT forest land worth over Rs. 14,000 crore'. 'This plantation is owned by HMT. It is illegal for the organisation to sell to government departments/organisations and private individuals. However, the fact that forest officials did not make any attempt to recover the land and, without even drawing the attention of the Cabinet, submitted an Interim Application (IA) to the Supreme Court seeking denotification in 2020 is a cause for doubt,' Khandre has said. The controversy pertains to 599 acres of land in a plantation in the Peenya Jalahalli region in North Bengaluru, which was declared a forest in 1896 and was later transferred to HMT in the 1960s to create industrial infrastructure through a donation deed by the district collector. In recent years, large portions of the land given to HMT by the forest department for industrial purposes have been used to facilitate major real estate projects through the connivance of state and central government officials. Over the last year, a dispute arose over the land between the Union Heavy Industries Ministry headed by H D Kumaraswamy, who is looking at monetising the land to resuscitate the fortunes of HMT, and the state forest department, which is trying to recover the HMT land by arguing that it remains a forest land. In November last year, the Karnataka Government issued notices to the forest officials concerned over the filing of the IA in the SC on the HMT forest land. In January this year, the state government ordered that since 281 acres of the 599 acres of land donated to HMT is vacant land 'without any building,' the forest department must take possession of the vacant forest land. Over 200 acres of the HMT land in Bengaluru have been handed over to private players and others, even as HMT Ltd has collapsed in the last four decades. One of the major transfers of land happened between 1999 and 2004 when the Congress was in power, leading to the construction of apartment complexes by some of the big real estate developers of Bengaluru.

IPL 2025 Prize Money: Royal Challengers Bangalore Win ₹20 Crores, Punjab Kings ₹13 Crores
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