Latest news with #Babu
Hindustan Times
15 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Nepali domestic staff flee with valuables worth ₹1.8 crore from Bengaluru businessman's home: Report
In a high-profile burglary case, a Nepali couple employed as domestic staff at a Bengaluru businessman's residence allegedly fled with valuables worth ₹1.8 crore, including a licensed firearm, Times of India reported. According to the report, the incident occurred at the home of S Ramesh Babu, a 55-year-old businessman and political party functionary, in Lal Bahadur Shastri Nagar near HAL. The theft came to light on May 28, a day after the family returned from a pilgrimage to Tirupati. The accused, identified by the names Raj and Deepa, had been entrusted with the house while the family was away. However, investigators suspect the duo may have used false identities, as no identification documents were collected during their hiring. (Also Read: Bengaluru's long-waited Ejipura flyover gets official attention as BBMP chief pays visit) The couple had been working at Babu's residence for just three months but had already gained the family's trust. When the family left for Tirupati at around 5.30 am on May 27, they left Raj and Deepa in charge. Though Babu had CCTV cameras installed and monitored footage remotely, he noted the system had gone offline the next morning. Initially suspecting a power outage, he didn't raise an alarm. It wasn't until around 11.30 am on May 28 that the situation began to unravel. A family friend who dropped by the house noticed the main gate and front door were wide open, and the staff missing. She immediately informed Babu, who asked another friend to inspect the property. During a video call, Babu noticed broken locks on bedroom doors. The family rushed back and arrived by 4 pm, only to find their valuables gone, the report further added. Among the stolen items were a diamond necklace, gold ornaments weighing nearly 2 kilograms, ₹10 lakh in cash, and a licensed pistol. Babu told the police that the haul included both inherited heirlooms and assets acquired through his career. Initial investigation suggests that the couple was recommended by a former employee named Prem, who had worked with the family for over 18 months. Before leaving for his hometown, Prem introduced another man, Babu, as his replacement. Unable to handle the domestic responsibilities, Babu brought in Raj and Deepa, who soon became familiar faces in the household. Police now believe the theft was not an impulsive act but a planned conspiracy involving at least three other accomplices. 'A case has been registered under Section 306 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for theft committed by a servant or clerk entrusted with their employer's property,' said Shivakumar Gunare, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Whitefield Division) according to the publication. A special team has been constituted to trace the suspects, and further investigations are underway. (Also Read: 67 dead as record-breaking rainfall batters Karnataka, over 19 lakh at risk: Report)
New Indian Express
18 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Walayar: Kerala's jackpot junction, town of thousand dreams
PALAKKAD: Nestled right on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, the tiny Walayar town located on the Palakkad - Coimbatore highway, is more than just a checkpoint town - it is Kerala's own jackpot junction, a dazzling maze of neon-lit lottery stalls packed shoulder-to-shoulder. The streets and pocket roads hum with energy, the air thick with hope, and the buzz of buyers from across state borders is impossible to ignore. Over 130 kiosks and countless street vendors are selling Kerala lotteries here making Walayar a dazzling world of dreams, risk, and relentless hope. 'You wouldn't see any other place in Kerala where so many stalls and street sellers are concentrated in one locality like in Walayar. Believe it or not, almost all the stalls in Walayar sell well over 500 tickets on a given day. The number crosses 1,000 each on Sundays, when people from Tamil Nadu come in huge numbers and purchase tickets for up to next 10 days,' says C Babu, district secretary of the All Kerala Lottery Traders Union, explaining the magnitude of the lottery trade in Walayar. 'Some believe in a few lucky numbers, many believe in particular weekdays while a huge number of buyers believe in ticket sets and books. The availability of books and sets is also a reason why people flock to Walayar,' Babu adds. About 96 lakh tickets are printed for a day's sale by the Kerala government and above Rs 24 crore is distributed as lottery prizes. The maximum prizes are given in Rs 5000s which total Rs 9.72 crore. 'Those who come to Walayar always look for tickets in books (one book is 25 tickets) and sets (a set is 12 books). People generally buy one or two tickets, but in Walayar people generally buy 12 tickets in the same numbers (last four digits). They believe they will win the Rs-5000 prize if purchased in that style, and it has happened scores of times here also,' said a ticket seller in the Walayar Dam Road. It's such a buzzling place that the service road of the National Highway and pocket roads are filled with two-wheelers and four-wheelers, majority of them bearing Tamil Nadu registration, but there isn't a proper grocery shop, garment shop or medical shop, vegetable shop or financial firm in Walayar. And whatever small shops are located there, all sell lottery tickets! There are a couple of small restaurants, tea shops and toddy shops where, too, you can see lottery tickets displayed for sale and they become empty as the lottery results are out.
The Courier
a day ago
- The Courier
Friday court round-up — Panicking pavement drive pandemonium in Dundee
Pedestrians had to jump out the way after a 'panicked' driver drove over a pavement on Dundee's Hilltown. drove dangerously after becoming involved in an incident at Babu's takeaway at around 10.30pm on March 5. The 32-year-old mounted the pavement and drove the wrong way to get past police, which prompted three pedestrians to take evasive action. Dundee Sheriff Court heard Malone drove his Vauxhall Corsa in an 'aggressive fashion' as he left the scene. Malone was later found at his home on Annan Terrace and refused to provide breath specimens to detect whether alcohol was in his system. Solicitor David Duncan said Malone 'panicked' after police started looking for him in connection with the earlier incident. He was ordered to perform 120 hours of unpaid work and disqualified from driving for 12 months. A vengeful boyfriend made a near-900 mile round trip from Wales to target his ex-partner's Fife home with abusive graffiti, including in a street called Lovers Lane. spray-painted the words 'wee slag' after flying and driving under cover of darkness to Cupar. A prolific shoplifter who stole more than £9,000 of goods – including from stores in Fife – has been ordered to carry out 60 hours of unpaid work. Saban Mili, 23, of Glenrothes, targeted Morrisons or Sainsbury's stores in Leven, Wishaw, Falkirk and Hamilton during a three-month period last year. Previously at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court, with the aid of a Romanian translator, he pled guilty to five shoplifting charges. They included, on August 3 at Sainsbury's in Riverside Road, Leven, stealing alcohol and other goods worth £1,779.05. The total value of stolen goods is £9,152.05. Solicitor Martin McGuire said: 'He came to Scotland in 2023. Ultimately he became embroiled in these offences having been introduced to another individual. 'Having found himself in difficulty, he engaged in offending during the course of 2024.' Sheriff Steven Borthwick KC said: 'Because you have no income, you're not in any position to make any financial recompense for the loss.' He said custody was considered due to the high value of the items. A callous conman from Angus avoided a jail sentence for stealing almost £20,000 from his partner because it was his first offence. Stonemason 's partner was being taken into a care home near Arbroath so he ended their 20-year relationship but helped himself to her bank card and stole more than £10,000 in cash and spent thousands more, including 22 payments to escort website Midsummer. A camper who set off on a road trip after smoking a joint has been banned from driving for three years. was pulled over by police in Perthshire after they noticed a strong smell of cannabis coming from his Toyata HiAce. The 34-year-old mechanic was candid with officers and admitted smoking the drug before leaving his home in Dundee about an hour earlier. He appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted motoring along Perth Road, Birnam, while nearly four times the drug limit (7.6 mics/2 mics). It is his second conviction for drug-driving. Prosecutor Elizabeth Hodgson said Carl, of Ballater Place, was stopped just after midnight on September 7 last year. Although there were no issues with his driving, police noticed a strong whiff of cannabis while travelling behind his vehicle. Solicitor Alan Davie, defending, said his client had been heading to the Dunkeld area for camping. 'He accepts he smoked a joint before going on his journey. He made a mistake and he should have known better.' The court heard Carl no longer takes the class B drug and is regularly tested at his workplace. Sheriff Clair McLachlan told Carl: 'You really should have known better. This was a high reading and it is your second conviction in four years.' As well as a three-year ban, Carl was fined £670. Bomb disposal, surviving deadly snake bites and inventing Bag for Life – In the second part in our series on tea-blag conman , we look at some of the wild claims made during his trial for his too-good-to-be-brew Scottish tea firm fraud. A 24-year-old who sent pictures and videos of his penis to someone he thought was a child has been given 40 hours of unpaid work and put on the sex offenders register for a year. appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court for sentencing after earlier pleading guilty to attempting to cause a child to view a sexual image and attempting to communicate indecently with a child. Court papers say the offending took place at an address in Nicol Street, Kirkcaldy, and at an Italian restaurant in the town and elsewhere, between March 6 and 11 last year. Hannah, of West Pilton Brae, Edinburgh, believed he was speaking to a girl between the ages of 13 and 16 but this was in fact an adult pretending to be a child. He sent images and videos of his penis to the decoy and engaged in sexual conversations with them. As well as the unpaid work, Sheriff Steven Borthwick put Hannah on offender supervision for a year and made a strict conduct requirement, which includes a condition he must get supervisor approval before communicating with any child under 16. Defence lawyer Alexandra Philp said Hannah had benefitted from being open with social workers and is keen to do unpaid work, pointing out it might be a stepping stone to future employment. A 23-year-old man has been cleared by a jury of raping a woman at an address in Dundee. was found not proven of the single allegation he faced at the High Court in Dundee. Prosecutors alleged Scarpa committed the offence while the woman was intoxicated at his home in the city in March 2023. Following the jury's verdict, judge Olga Pasportnikov said: 'The charge against you has been found not proven and you are free to go.'
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Complainant summoned in VACB case against ED official in Kerala
Kochi: The enforcement directorate (ED) has summoned the complainant in the vigilance case in which an ED official was made an accused as part of an inquiry. Sources said ED's special task force (STF) summoned Aneesh Babu, the complainant. He has been directed to appear before ED at its headquarters in New Delhi on Friday, sources said. Vigilance and anti-corruption bureau (VACB) had booked an assistant director with ED's Kochi unit following Babu's complaint. Three other persons were arrested in connection with the allegations. Sources said the summons was issued by ED STF assistant director Mohit Godara. Babu has been instructed to produce his identity card and a copy of the FIR registered by the VACB. ED assistant director Shekar Kumar was named as accused in the vigilance FIR based on his complaint. Babu told reporters that he was unaware of the exact reason for the summons, even as sources said the STF was conducting an independent inquiry into the ED cases against Babu. The bribery allegations surfaced during an ED investigation against Babu under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED was carrying out the PMLA investigation based on five FIRs registered by Kerala Police against Babu for allegedly defrauding individuals of Rs 24.73 crore. Even as the ED investigation was progressing, Babu approached the VACB with a complaint that a bribe was demanded from him, offering to 'settle' the case against him.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
India's ambitious e-bus drive faces component supply constraints, financing hurdles
HighlightsMaharashtra may cancel ₹10,000 crore e-bus order with Olectra due to major delivery delays. E-bus makers face supply shortages for key parts from China and the US. No rival suppliers are ready to fulfil large state orders on short notice. OEMs like Switch are boosting localisation and scaling production to tackle supply issues. India wants to quickly transition to green public transportation and has set itself an ambitious target of deploying 50,000 e-buses by 2027. An overwhelming procurement of 90% of these e-buses is to be done by various state governments instead of private operators. But supply chain issues, specifically for components coming from China, continue to be a roadblock in this ambitious plan. There are other challenges too, including access to financing and infrastructure readiness. Earlier this week, news reports suggested that the Maharashtra government has decided to cancel a large order for supply of e-buses due to inordinate delays in supplies. State transport minister Pratap Sarnaik said as much on X, though he did not name the supplier. The contract was signed between the state government and a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) , which comprises Olectra Greentech and another group company, and it was inked for supply of 5,150 electric buses to the state government in 2023. Reports suggest that less than 250 buses have been delivered till date and the contract had been revised once earlier, with the supply timelines eased. So what went wrong? Supply challenges for chassis and battery components have been severely affecting the manufacturing of electric buses, not just for the Olectra SPV but for much of the e-bus ecosystem in India. Another industry player said he was negotiating with a European company for a partnership to enter the 9 metre electric bus segment in India, while pointing out the continued supply challenges for battery and chassis components besides magnets. 'Everybody is getting affected, all major electric bus OEMs are getting affected. China and the USA - major suppliers of some of the components - have been flexing their muscles but I believe eventually, things will get sorted out,' this person said. We have navigated supply chain challenges through robust planning and favorable geopolitical developments. We rely on trusted partners for important EV components, battery, motors, and power electronics. We closely work and collaborate with partners to manage the Babu Mahesh Babu, CEO Switch Mobility , another electric bus manufacturer with an order book of 2921 units last fiscal (of which 982 had been delivered), said his company has been investing in local battery assembly and in strengthening logistics partnerships to increase localisation and reduce supply chain vagaries. 'We have navigated supply chain challenges through robust planning and favorable geopolitical developments. We rely on trusted partners for important EV components, battery, motors, and power electronics. We closely work and collaborate with partners to manage the challenges. We are also investing in local battery assembly, pursuing long-term contracts with suppliers and strengthening logistics partnerships, with over 65% localization in manufacturing and plans to increase this to 90% aligning with the 'Make in India' vision.' Also read: Karnataka to receive 4,500 electric buses under PM e-Drive scheme Over 90% of e-bus procurement is currently driven by state governments and public transport corporations (STUs), supported by central schemes like FAME-II and new initiatives under PM e-Bus Sewa and PM e-Drive . State governments have no option But even as different e-bus makers are trying to innovate and also address the supply constraints by developing a local vendor base, there really appears to be little the state governments can do to get the e-bus orders in time! While Olectra says it is yet to receive any intimation about the cancellation of the MSRTC order, in a subsequent discussion with analysts, the company's CFO B Sharatchandra did not seem perturbed by the impending cancellation. When asked whether it was fair to assume that if MSRTC were to cancel the order, there were no competing suppliers who could step up and fulfil the order in the timeline decided, he said 'I think you are right. Yes, you can assume. So, obviously, everybody has got capacity constraints and our product, as you rightly said, has got an edge in terms of technology and in terms of performance over the competition. So, we hope, as Hanuman (company secretary) has clarified to earlier queries, we are optimistic that there will not be any negative impact on account of this'. In other words, Olectra SPV's loss is unlikely to be a competitor's gain. The Olectra officials also admitted that delays in procuring powertrain components relating to battery and some of the components relating to chassis have hampered production of e-buses but again alluded to the delays in deliveries of e-buses by the entire industry to drive home the point that supply chain limitations are universal. The MSRTC order was labelled as one the world's largest e-bus procurements and was worth Rs 10,000 crore. The initial agreement for e-bus supply was later amended to reduce the number of buses to be supplied, due to inability of the SPV to meet the targets. At present the contract execution is under process and as per the clarification provided by EVEY they haven't received any such order as of Greentech consortium A consortium of Olectra Greentech Limited and EVEY Trans Private Limited was awarded this contract by the MSRTC for 5,150 Electric Buses and allied Electrical and Civil Infrastructures on Gross Cost Contract (GCC) basis. And that EVEY Trans is executing this contract with MSRTC through the SPV. 'At present the contract execution is under process and as per the clarification provided by EVEY they haven't received any such order as of now.' Meanwhile, in answer to another question, the Olectra CFO admitted that the company's total backlog was 'quite severe. We have orders of, I think more than 4,500 (e-buses)...pending and another 5,000 with MSRT, which we have to deliver in the next, I believe 18 months'. The company plans to ramp up production by deploying robotics in Q4 of FY26. Also read: Electric two wheeler sales cross a million units in FY25 but growth is slowing down Switch to double volumes Babu of Switch mobility said that the company's goal was to double volumes and revenue annually over the next three years, supported by a robust order pipeline exceeding 1,800 electric vehicles, including international orders such as from Mauritius. 'We are scaling up production and expanding our service network with 18 exclusive bus service outlets and 50+ dealer points across India.' Beyond battery and motor supplies, Babu listed out some other challenges being faced by the electric bus OEMs: Charging Infrastructure, customization complexity alongside diverse city requirements, shortage of skilled workforce, and access to financing and infrastructure readiness, especially in tier 2 and 3 cities.
