bangalore news times

Bengaluru : A man has been arrested in Bengaluru on charges of allegedly raping a woman from Jaipur whom he befriended at a pub in Koramangala. The accused, Sameer, was arrested by the Madiwala police and remanded to judicial custody. The incident reportedly began when the woman, who had come to Bengaluru from Rajasthan, visited a pub in Koramangala. According to her complaint, she asked Sameer for a lighter while trying to smoke. He used the opportunity to strike up a conversation and subsequently obtained her phone number. The accused allegedly stayed in touch with the woman and later invited her to a hotel in Madiwala. The two consumed alcohol in the hotel room, where Sameer allegedly sexually assaulted her after she became intoxicated, the complaint stated. The woman reportedly walked out of the hotel in the early hours and approached the Madiwala police . Based on her statement, the police registered a case and initiated action against the accused. Sameer was ...

Mysuru: Pramoda Devi Wadiyar has accused the Karnataka government of failing to implement a court order directing it to return Mysuru Palace to the royal family within 30 days. She also clarified that the Ambari and royal throne are private properties of the Wadiyar family. Addressing a press conference in Mysuru, she said the royal family’s private properties were not covered under the palace acquisition legislation. The list of such assets was submitted to the Union government in 1947 and approved by V P Menon in 1951, she said. Explaining the background of the palace dispute, Pramoda Devi said the government had agreed to maintain the palace after the death of Jayachamaraja Wadiyar, when the family faced tax liabilities of over Rs 8 crore. However, the government allegedly failed to honour the agreement, following which the family approached the judiciary. Though the court ordered the palace to be returned within 30 days, the government had not complied with the di...

Bengaluru : A woman’s presence on professional networking platforms such as LinkedIn and social media sites such as Facebook cannot establish that she is financially independent, a Bengaluru sessions court has observed while granting her monthly maintenance of Rs 20,000. Judge Mohan Prabhu made the observation while disposing of appeals filed by an estranged husband and wife against a magistrate court’s maintenance order. The husband had opposed his wife’s demand for maintenance, claiming that she was educated and capable of earning. His lawyer submitted photographs and screenshots of her LinkedIn and Facebook profiles to support the contention that she was employed. Rejecting the argument, the sessions court said the husband had not produced sufficient evidence to establish the woman’s actual income. A social media profile or an assumption that she was employed could not prove that she had adequate financial resources to maintain herself and thei...

Bengaluru : Karnataka has stepped up its campaign against rice smuggling and illegal stockpiling, with the Food and Civil Supplies Department seizing more than 18 lakh kg of rice and over 250 trucks during the past two months. Food Minister Rizwan Arshad said more than 232 people had been arrested and sent to jail as part of the intensified enforcement drive. The department was maintaining continuous surveillance to prevent subsidised rice supplied through the public distribution system from being diverted into the open market. The minister said the government would take stringent action against individuals and traders involved in the illegal transportation, storage and sale of rice. Expressing concern over the impact of inadequate rainfall on agricultural production, Arshad said Karnataka had received around 40% less rainfall than normal. The rainfall deficit across the country had also affected rice production, contributing to concerns over availability and rising pri...

Chamarajanagar : A pregnant wild elephant was found dead on private land near Gopalaswamy Betta in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve, adding to concerns over the safety of wildlife in the forest landscape. The female elephant, believed to be around 35 years old, was found in a private property in the Gopalaswamy Betta range of Gundlupet taluk. The location was about 150 metres from the forest boundary. Forest officials reached the spot and began an investigation. Veterinarian Dr Mirza Wasim conducted the post-mortem examination and found that the elephant was carrying a foetus. Details about the age of the unborn calf remain unclear, with preliminary information containing discrepancies. Officials suspect that the animal may have died in a fight with another wild elephant. However, the department has not established the cause of death , which will be determined after the post-mortem report is assessed. The incident follows other disturbing developments in Bandipur. A tiger...

Bengaluru : The Karnataka High Court has ruled that Maharashtra’s Vadgaon police acted unlawfully in seizing business records from a tobacco products firm’s office in Tumakuru and issuing notices summoning its representatives for questioning outside the police station’s jurisdiction. Justice Suraj Govindaraj partly allowed petitions filed by Shiv Enterprises and others, challenging the actions of Maharashtra police. The court held that notices issued under Section 179 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) could not be used to compel persons outside the concerned police station’s territorial limits to appear in Vadgaon. The matter originated in August 2025, when Maharashtra police intercepted a lorry transporting prohibited tobacco products on the Bengaluru-Pune highway and registered an FIR against certain individuals. Following the incident, five to six personnel from Vadgaon police station visited the Tumakuru office of Shiv Enterpr...