Bengaluru, Aug 23: The Enforcement Directorate, which raided over 30 premises on Friday to unearth the illegal betting racket by Congress MLA from Chithradurga has arrested Veerendra alias Puppy at Gangtok in Sikkim and seized Rs 6 crore unaccounted cash he was carrying with him.

Total Seizures from MLA Hit Rs 12 Crore

With this seizure, the total amount of money seized since Friday from the MLA has accumulated to Rs 12 crore, as the ED had seized cash, foreign currency and gold worth over Rs 6 crore on Friday from his residence in Chitradurga on Friday.

Veerendra alias Puppy, who owns five casinos in Goa — Puppy’s Casino Gold, Ocean7 Casino, Ocean River Casino, Big Daddy Casino and Puppy’s Casino Pride, is the first time MLA from Chitradurga. Apart from the seizure of money, the ED has frozen his 17 bank accounts and two bank lockers.

Dubai-Based Companies Linked to Gambling Apps

ED officials are looking into the illegal betting racket run by Puppy through gaming APPs called King567, Raja567, Puppies003 and Rathna Gambling. He is suspected to be using his brother Thippeswamy’s Dubai based companies to operate these APPs.

Transit Remand Granted, MLA to Be Produced in Bengaluru

Puppy was produced before Judicial Magistrate at Gangtok and obtained transit remand. He is being brought to Bengaluru to be produced before the jurisdictional Magistrate.

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) MP Sanjay Raut wrote a strongly worded letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, condemning the government’s decision to allow India to play Pakistan in the upcoming Asia Cup 2025. Raut termed the approval ‘painful and insensitive,’ especially in the wake of the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, carried out by Pakistani militants.

In his letter, Raut raised sharp questions for the Prime Minister. He asked how the government could justify sporting ties with Pakistan when it continues to maintain that ‘Operation Sindoor’ against terrorism is still not over. Referring to the 26 women widowed in the Pahalgam attack, he asked whether their grief and emotions had been taken into account. “You once declared that blood and water cannot flow together, will blood and cricket now flow side by side?” Raut questioned.

The Sena UBT leader also accused the government of bowing to external pressure, suggesting that the decision may have been influenced by international powers, including the United States. Further, he alleged that India–Pakistan matches generate large-scale betting and online gambling, in which some BJP members are allegedly involved. Naming Jay Shah, Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Raut hinted at possible financial motives behind the clearance.

Raut maintained that had the match been held in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena under Bal Thackeray would have ensured it was disrupted. He charged the Centre with prioritising cricketing ties with Pakistan over Hindutva and national sentiment, accusing the government of rendering patriotism meaningless in the process.

The controversy comes after the Union Ministry of Sports granted clearance for India’s participation in the Asia Cup clash against Pakistan, despite weeks of growing opposition. Since the Asia Cup schedule was announced, demands for a boycott of the Pakistan fixture had intensified, with many groups calling it inappropriate to play Pakistan while cross-border terrorism persists.

New Delhi, Aug 23: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Gujarat on August 25 and 26, inaugurating and laying the foundation stones of urban development projects worth Rs 2,548 crore in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar.

The announcement comes as the state celebrates Urban Development Year and marks two decades of reforms initiated by PM Modi during his tenure as the Gujarat Chief Minister.

Of the total investment, development projects worth Rs 2,267 crore will be dedicated to Ahmedabad.

A key highlight will be the rehabilitation of 1,449 slums in Ahmedabad’s Ramapir Tekra under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) at a cost of Rs 133 crore.

The project promises amenities such as an anganwadi, health centre, solar rooftops, and PNG gas connections.

In the water sector, PM Modi will inaugurate a Rs 27-crore drinking water project under Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA), featuring a 15-lakh litre clear water pump, pumping station, and a 23-km trunk pipeline, ensuring safe water supply to 10 villages in Daskroi taluka of Ahmedabad district.

The foundation stones will also be laid for several civic works, including a stormwater drainage system in Shela, Manipur, Godhavi, Sanathal, and Telav, redevelopment of Law Garden and Mithakali precinct, new water distribution stations in Thaltej, Naranpura, and Chandkheda, and reconstruction of the Asarwa Railway Over Bridge.

Additionally, a mini sports complex at Sarkhej, to be built at a cost of Rs 56.52 crore, is expected to further Ahmedabad’s sporting infrastructure.

A major announcement will be the six-laning of the Sardar Patel Ring Road at a cost of Rs 1,624 crore.

Executed in two phases under hybrid annuity mode, the project will include service roads spanning 62 km, enhancing traffic flow and safety around Ahmedabad.

In Gandhinagar, projects worth Rs 281 crore will be launched — Rs 243 crore under the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation and Rs 38 crore under the Gandhinagar Urban Development Authority.

These initiatives focus on improving roads, sanitation, water supply, and flood management.

The Prime Minister will inaugurate a pipeline system from Charedi headworks to Pethapur and Rakheja, built at Rs 44 crore, which will deliver Narmada water to nearly 55,000 residents.

He will also inaugurate new sewage treatment plants and pumping stations at Dabhoda, benefiting around 17,000 people.

The foundation works include a Rs 72-crore road parallel to the Metro from Dholakuva to Pancheshwar Circle, a stormwater drainage line at Pethapur, and new water and sewer lines at Koba, Raysan, and Randesan.

With these projects, Gujarat aims to strengthen its infrastructure backbone and further enhance the ease of living for its citizens.