Watchgate: Karnataka ACB questions Dubai doctor

Bengaluru: Dr Girish Chandra Varma, who reportedly presented the pricey Hublot watch to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah (as the CM himself had claimed), presented before investigating officials of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Wednesday to record his statement.

ACB sources confirmed that the doctor produced a bill for the watch and handed it over to the investigators which could confirm that he had indeed gifted the watch to the chief minister.

The investigating officials did not reveal details of the doctor’s statements, saying the issue is still under investigation. Asked if the unique code of the Hublot watch with the chief minister and the code on the bill the doctor presented matched, a senior official said, “The case is at its preliminary stages of investigation. We had issued summons to the doctor in Dubai and had asked him to appear before us. He flew down and appeared before us and we have recorded his statement and further investigations are underway.”

The head of ACB, ADGP K.V. Gagandeep, had sought clarification from the Chief Secretary in connection with a complaint filed by advocate Nataraj Sharma against Mr Siddaramaiah in April seeking a probe into the “Watchgate”.

As per rules, the ACB has to get permission from the advisory board before starting an investigation. That was the reason the ADGP wrote to the Chief Secretary seeking clarification on how to take the case further. It is learnt that the ACB has also taken the opinion of the Advocate-General in the matter.

In a tragic incident, a 52-year-old traffic head constable attached to Yeshwanthpur traffic police station died after he came under the wheels of a speeding train in Yeshwanthpur railway police station limits.

The deceased has been identified as Govindaraju, a ward head constable at Yeshwanthpur traffic police station since 2012. According to the police, the incident took place around 8.30 pm while Govindraju was returning to Tumakuru from Yeshwantpura by Gol Gumbaz Express.

As the train reached near J P Park cross, Govindraju, received a call from his family. Due to poor connectivity he came towards the train door, but he accidentally slipped and came under its wheels at Muthiyalanagar railway track. He sustained grievous injuries on his back and head and died instantly.

Govindaraju used to commute from Tumakuru to Yeshwanthpura everyday.
“The department is mourning the death of our one of the best policeman. Govindraju was a committed and clean officer. The body was shifted to M.S. Ramaiah hospital around 2 am,” said a police inspector. He is survived by wife and three children. Yeshwanthpura Railway police have registered a case.

Pedestrian mowed down by car
A 30-year-old pedestrian was mowed down by a speeding car near Jayanagar 4th T block on Tuesday night. According to the police, the deceased has been identified as Suresh, a resident of the same area and a native of Hyderabad. He was working as a manager in Food Corporation India.

The accident happened around 10 pm when Suresh and his wife were returning home after going to a pharmacy. A speeding car mowed down Suresh, who suffered serious head injuries. The public informed the police and Suresh was shifted to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead.

The driver of the car fled after abandoning the vehicle. Suresh was walking on to the left side of the road and the car driver lost control over the vehicle and mowed him down, police added. Jayanagar traffic police have registered a case and a hunt is on for the driver.