bangalore news times

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations that land belonging to Dalits was illegally occupied by the Art of Living Foundation. The Regional Commissioner of the Bengaluru Division will head the investigation. Announcing the decision at Vidhana Soudha on Tuesday, July 21, Home Minister G. Parameshwara said the government acted after receiving complaints from Dalit organisations and members of the public alleging that around 150 acres of Dalit land had been illegally taken over by the organisation led by spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. “The government has constituted an SIT under the Bengaluru Regional Commissioner to conduct a comprehensive inquiry into the allegations. If any illegality is found during the investigation, appropriate legal action will be initiated,” Parameshwara told reporters. He said the probe was ordered after multiple complaints sought an independent investigation into ...

Koppal : Two members of a family were killed and six others sustained serious injuries after a Bolero SUV rammed into a stationary lorry on National Highway-13 between Kerehalli and Shahapur villages near Munirabad in Koppal district on Monday evening. The deceased have been identified as Khadar Khan (75), a resident of Huligi village, and a 70-year-old woman from the same family. According to police , the Bolero was travelling from Kushtagi towards Hosapete when it crashed into the rear of a lorry parked on the roadside. The impact of the collision was so severe that the Bolero was completely mangled, leaving two occupants dead on the spot. Six other passengers travelling in the vehicle suffered serious injuries and were rushed to the district hospital for treatment. Their condition is said to be serious, police said. Police personnel from Munirabad Police Station rushed to the accident site, conducted an inspection and shifted the victims. A case has been registered,...

Mysuru : The discovery of more than 35 idols of Ravana during archaeological excavations in parts of Mandya and Mysuru districts has surprised historians and archaeology experts, reviving interest in the region’s ancient cultural and religious history. The findings have sparked fresh discussions on the historical significance of Ravana worship in southern Karnataka. Mandya and Mysuru are traditionally associated with episodes from the Indian epics. While Muthathi is believed to have links with the Ramayana, Pandavapura and Kunti Betta are associated with the Mahabharata. Against this backdrop, the large number of Ravana idols unearthed in the region has attracted considerable academic attention. According to experts, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) recovered around 15 to 20 Ravana idols during excavations carried out in Maddur, Malavalli and Mandya taluks. A similar number of idols were independently discovered by noted ancient history and archaeology scholar P...

Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Muslim Federation has announced a statewide campaign from July 20 to August 5, urging the Congress government to fulfil promises made to the Muslim community in its 2023 Assembly election manifesto. The campaign will be held across the state, culminating in a major convention in Davanagere. Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Federation Convenor Suhail Ahmed Maroor said the Congress had assured restoration of the 2B reservation, stringent legal action against hate speech and hate crimes, amendments to the anti-cow slaughter law, withdrawal of the anti-conversion law, implementation of the caste survey report and a Rs 10,000 crore budget allocation for minorities. He said the manifesto had also promised protection of Waqf properties, political representation for Muslims in proportion to their population, measures to improve educational opportunities for the community and an appropriate political strategy on the Special Intensive Revision (...

Bengaluru : Bengaluru has emerged as India’s city with the highest number of privately owned cars, with registrations crossing 25 lakh, underlining the city’s growing dependence on personal vehicles and raising fresh concerns over worsening traffic congestion, pollution and parking shortages. The latest figures place Bengaluru ahead of Delhi and Mumbai in terms of private car ownership. While the national capital has long been regarded as the city with the largest overall vehicle population, Bengaluru now leads the country in the number of personal cars on its roads. Experts attribute the trend to the city’s expanding IT sector, rising disposable incomes and increasing preference for private transport over public transit. The rapid growth in car ownership has added immense pressure on Bengaluru’s already congested road network. Narrow roads, infrastructure constraints and increasing vehicle density have made traffic management a major challenge, partic...

Bengaluru : A 66-year- old Bengaluru resident was allegedly cheated of Rs 6.88 lakh after fraudsters used a deepfake video of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to promote a fake investment scheme on social media. According to police, the victim, a resident of Narayanapura, came across a Facebook video claiming that the Central government and the State Bank of India had jointly launched a lucrative investment scheme . The video, created using deepfake technology, falsely showed Sitharaman encouraging people to invest by promising high returns within a short period. Believing the video to be genuine, the victim clicked on the link provided and entered his KYC details and other personal information. He was subsequently contacted through a WhatsApp number with the UK country code (+44). The caller allegedly persuaded him to invest more than Rs 6 lakh instead of the initial Rs 22,000, claiming that an investment of Rs 6 lakh would fetch returns of Rs 15 lakh within just 1...

Hassan: A family dispute over money and property ended in tragedy in Karnataka’s Hassan district, where a 42-year-old man allegedly murdered his retired headmaster father before dying by suicide at their residence in Channarayapatna taluk, police said. The deceased have been identified as retired headmaster BN Channegowda (73) and his son Bindukumar (42). According to the preliminary investigation, Bindukumar had reportedly incurred heavy debts due to financial difficulties and had approached his father seeking money to repay the loans. Police said Channegowda refused to provide financial assistance, allegedly believing that his son had squandered money without any stable source of income. Investigators said the disagreement escalated when Bindukumar allegedly demanded his share in the family property. After his father reportedly declined to divide the property immediately, an argument broke out between the two. Police suspect that during the altercation, Bindu...