Author: Rahul M

Arvind Bellad, Deputy Leader of the Opposition and BJP MLA for Hubballi-Dharwad West, urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday to consider relocating the proposed high-tech defence and aerospace park to North Karnataka to preserve the economic and strategic vision behind the project and ensure balanced regional development. In a letter to the chief minister, Bellad welcomed the government’s decision to withdraw the process to acquire 1,777 acres in Channarayapatna and surrounding villages in Devanahalli taluk following strong opposition from farmers. Siddaramaiah announced the complete withdrawal of the land acquisition process on Tuesday. The decision came after three and a half…

After nearly two decades of investigation, the CBI on July 12 arrested a private firm’s former director accused of defrauding State Bank of India out of Rs 8 crore. The agency said it used advanced image search technology to arrest the accused as she had been living under an assumed identity. The CBI identified the arrested accused as Mani M Sekhar, who was director of Indo Marks & BTC Home Products Private Limited. The fraud case dates back to 2002-2005, when Bengaluru-based couple Ramanujam Muthuramalingam Sekhar and Mani M Shekhar allegedly cheated SBI’s overseas branch. Story continues below this ad…

Chennai Super Kings’ young talent and Tamil Nadu batter C Andre Siddarth recently shared how his first meeting with MS Dhoni unfolded during the IPL 2025 season. The 18-year-old recounted the memorable experience of meeting the CSK legend on the team bus, revealing that Dhoni initiated their conversation. Speaking on S Badrinath’s YouTube channel Cric It with Badri, Siddarth recalled, “It happened on the bus. In the bus, I actually sit in the last seat. I wasn’t aware that he sat in the last seat. I was sitting, and he sat next to me. He was the one who interacted…

In a bid to regularise buildings and layouts in the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) limits, the Karnataka Cabinet Thursday decided to issue Khatas to all properties in the city, subject to conditions. Addressing a news conference following the Cabinet meeting, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said that those who do not have a Khata will be issued the same by the government. “When giving it, we will specify the parameters. If they (property owners) comply with the parameters, then B-khata will be issued,” he said, noting that a detailed order regarding it would be issued soon. Those…

A day after a lawyers’ delegation met Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah demanding a comprehensive investigation in the Dharmasthala secret burials case, a retired Supreme Court judge, Justice V Gopala Gowda, on Thursday sought police protection for the whistleblower, who claims to have secretly buried the bodies of several women in the temple town, and his lawyers. Addressing a news conference, Justice Gowda alleged that the investigation into the case was not progressing properly and that the statements recorded by the whistleblower before a magistrate had been leaked. “The government of Karnataka should order a probe by the Special Investigation Team…

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch several development projects in Bihar and West Bengal on Friday ahead of assembly polls in both the states. He will also address public meetings in both these places. Projects worth Rs 7,200 crore will be unveiled in Bihar, while the cost of projects to be launched in Bengal is over Rs 5,000 crore, the PMO said. The PMO said that in Bihar’s Motihari, PM Modi will lay the foundation stone of and inaugurate development projects catering to rail, road, rural development, fisheries, electronics, and information technology sectors. According to news agency PTI, the rail…

The Formula 1 world is buzzing with speculation about a potential shock move as Max Verstappen is rumored to be considering a departure from Red Bull to join Mercedes. The rumors intensified after reports emerged of a private meeting between Verstappen and Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff. Whispers of this high-profile meeting began when fans noticed that two yachts one belonging to Wolff and the other reportedly linked to Verstappen were sailing off the coast of Sardinia at the same time. Further curiosity was sparked when flight-tracking data revealed Verstappen’s private jet landing on the island during Wolff’s presence in…

The Karnataka High Court Friday heard submissions from the state challenging the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order quashing the suspension of several senior IPS officers in the wake of the June 4 Bengaluru stadium stampede. The counsel of IPS officer Vikash Kumar Vikash also made submissions on his behalf, while Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s counsel made submissions in their petition challenging CAT’s remarks regarding the responsibility of RCB for the tragedy. Eleven people died and several others got injured outside the Bengaluru cricket stadium on June 4, during an event called to celebrate RCB’s maiden IPL championship victory. Story continues below…

New Delhi: The INDIA bloc—minus the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)—is set to head into a brainstorming session Saturday, in a bid to project Opposition unity ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament starting next week. While the initial plan was for the meeting to be held at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence here, party general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal clarified later Thursday that the meeting will be held virtually. While opposition parties hold meetings of their floor leaders during Parliament sessions, the last formal gathering of the INDIA bloc took place on 5 June last…

Gurugram: Protests are spreading across Haryana in the wake of a Dalit teenager’s suspicious death in Hisar, with angry family members ignoring the police’s 12-hour deadline to conduct the last rites. The Hisar episode from the night of 7 July has drawn sharp criticism from Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who condemned the Nayab Saini-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. In a lengthy post Thursday on X, Rahul described the incident as a “murder of the Constitution” and accused the Modi government of turning the police into “tools of oppression” against the…