The Congress government in Karnataka has introduced a law to ensure police officers in operational roles in the state have a minimum tenure of two years instead of one year to have better control of crime, law and order across the state.

Home Minister G Parameshwara introduced the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Bill, 2024, to amend the Karnataka Police Act, 1963 (Karnataka Act 4 of 1964) to change section 20F, which currently prescribes a minimum tenure of one year.

"It is considered necessary further to amend the Karnataka Police Act, 1963, (Karnataka Act 4 of 1964) to enhance the minimum tenure of police officers in operational duties from one year to two years. This will help the police officer; to understand the jurisdiction in a better manner; to build good relations with the public; in detection and prevention of crime," says a statement of purpose for the Bill. (Read more)

The Karnataka government on Tuesday introduced a Bill to ban hookah bars with a prescription of imprisonment for one to three years and fines of up to Rs 1 lakh as punishments for violations.

The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) (Karnataka Amendment) Bill 2024 introduced in the Assembly by Home Minister G Parameshwara amends the central Act of 2003.

The Congress government in Karnataka has agreed to pay a compensation of Rs 15 lakh to the family of a man in Kerala who was trampled to death by an elephant in the Wayanad region. The move comes following a request by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who represents Wayanad in the Lok Sabha.

The death of Ajeesh Joseph Panachiyil on February 10 has resulted in tensions between citizens and Kerala forest authorities in Wayanad’s Pulpally region. The elephant that trampled him had been radio-collared by the Karnataka forest department in December 2023. (Read more)

The Karnataka Assembly has passed a bill to slash the penalty on property tax in Bengaluru city limits by 50 per cent. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Amendment Bill 2024 was tabled in the Assembly by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who holds the Bengaluru Development portfolio and was passed on Tuesday, reported the news agency PTI.

"With the passing of this Amendment Bill, the penalty amount is halved, saving Bengalureans a whopping Rs 2,700 crore. The BBMP will be able to collect penalties worth Rs 1,000 crore," a statement issued by Shivakumar's office said.

This important amendment will benefit around 13 to 15 lakh people in Bengaluru city including 5.51 lakh taxpayers, five to seven lakh people outside the property tax bracket and three lakh partial property taxpayers, it added. 

BJP leaders staged a protest in the legislative Assembly, demanding suspension of a police sub-inspector, Syed Tanveer Hussain, who booked 40 advocates allegedly in false cases in Ramanagara district. Earlier in the day, the Ramanagara Deputy Commissioner’s office witnessed massive protests by lawyers who have been demanding the suspension of Hussain in the matter.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday took part in a debate on the rising rates of water supplied by private tankers in Bengaluru after the Opposition BJP raised the issue in the state assembly. Shivakumar said that he would consider suggestions by BJP MLAs to fix a rate for water tankers to prevent exploitation of consumers and government takeover of tankers and borewells during summer. During the debate, he also said that water from the Cauvery Fifth stage scheme will be supplied by April or May to the 110 villages newly added to Bengaluru.

A controversy has broken out in Karnataka after the government changed a slogan by renowned Kannada poet Kuvempu at the entrances of the Morarji Desai Residential Schools in the state, with the BJP hitting out, saying it reflected the Congress’s “height of appeasement”.

Last week, Kuvempu’s original slogan “This is temple of knowledge, come inside with folded hands” was changed to “This is temple of knowledge, question without fear” – allegedly without any official government order.

School education minister Madhu Bangarappa announced the introduction of Ragi Malt in midday meals for three days a week in government schools.

He said chief minister Siddaramaiah would launch the programme on February 22

Bangarappa stated that the government will take a decision on allowing hijab in examination centres after studying the Supreme Court verdict on the matter. “We will come up with a decision soon on allowing hijab or not in examination centres ahead of the examination, based on the Supreme Court verdict.”

The Education department of Karnataka is investigating controversial incidents at St Gerosa school involving a teacher who was removed for alleged anti-Hindu remarks.

Akash Shankar IAS, Additional Commissioner of the Education department, is conducting a fact-finding inquiry.

The teacher reportedly made anti-Hindu comments during a class on Rabindranath Tagore's poem. Shankar collected preliminary information from officials and will submit a detailed report to the state government.

Some parents accused the teacher of hurting religious sentiments, leading to protests by Hindutva outfits and BJP leaders. The school management denies the allegations and blames local BJP MLAs for the controversy. FIRs have been filed against the MLAs for creating societal enmity. (PTI)

Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Monday revealed that the state has no stock of 190 of the 410 essential medicines to be supplied to government hospitals.

Responding to a question by MLC H S Gopinath during the ongoing state Legislative Council session, Rao admitted, “We have no stocks of 190 essential medicines. That is the reality and we are not hiding anything.”

Bengaluru Metro train services on the purple line were disrupted on Tuesday morning following a technical snag between Baiyappanahalli and Garudacharpalya stations after 8 am, causing inconvenience to office goers and other commuters.

According to Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) officials, trains had to be run at a slow speed due to signalling issues between the two stations.

The Karnataka Government has filed a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court for the cancellation of bail granted to an accused in the 2017 murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh. The state plea was registered by the SC last Saturday.

The plea is against a December 7, 2023, decision of the Karnataka High Court to grant bail to Mohan Nayak. Nayak, 56, is an alleged member of a right-wing organised crime syndicate that carried out the shooting of Gauri Lankesh, 55, on the doorstep of her home in West Bengaluru on September 5, 2017, as she returned home from work.

Trains in purple line is running at slow speed between Baiyappanahalli to Garudacharpalya due to a technical snag. They will be disruptions in the train schedules . Teams are working to solve at the earliest. Inconvenience is regretted. The operations team are doing short loop services to reduce the inconveniences of our commuters at large . Seeking kind cooperation .

The Karnataka Assembly on Monday witnessed a heated debate regarding the change in motto of the govenment residential schools run by the Social Welfare Department, news agency PTI reported. The opposition BJP attacked the ruling Congress party on the matter. The previous motto in Kannada picked up from a poem by Jnanpith award winner Kuvempu, meant 'This the temple of knowledge. Enter here with folded hands.' The department allegedly changed it to 'This is the temple of knowledge. Question boldly', the PTI report stated. Karnataka BJP President and Shikaripura MLA B Y Vijayendra alleged that the Congress government was "distorting the lines" written by Kuvempu.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Monday took into custody three persons, including two government officials, WH probing the Sub-Inspector Recruitment scam of 2021.   The arrested persons have been identified as Chandrakanth Tippanna Pyaati, a first division assistant in prime health centre of Shahabad, Basavaraj Siddappa Jamadhar, hostel superintendent of backwards class department's pre-matriculation hostel, and Shashidhar Shivasharanappa Jamadhar. In a press note, the CID said that the accused had links with Rudragouda Patil (the prime accused) and helped aspirants to answer questions via bluetooth devices. 113 persons have been arrested in the case so far.

Following the perfume factory fire on the outskirts of Bengaluru which claimed three lives, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday demanded action on the illegal factories operating in the city, news agency PTI reported. The opposition BJP in the Karnataka assembly alleged that the illegal factories were operating in residential areas, posing a risk to the residents. According to police in the district headquarters town of Ramanagara about 50 km from Bengaluru, the factory was engulfed in flames in Sunday's incident, the PTI report stated.  

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress president, on Monday alleged that Janata Dal (Secular) state president H D Kumaraswamy was making offers to Congress MLAs to vote against party candidates in the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls scheduled on February 27.

Speaking to reporters, he said, “We know whom he (Kumaraswamy) is calling, what he is talking about and who he is threatening. Our MLAs have informed us about the offers made to them. We are also aware of the BJP’s strategy.” Shivakumar said coalition partners BJP and JD(S) have fielded a fifth candidate for the RS polls to lure Congress legislators with offers to cross-vote against party candidates. Read full report here

The Supreme Court on Monday (February 19) stayed the proceedings in the criminal case against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over a protest march conducted by him in 2022 demanding the resignation of then Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister KS Eshwarappa. The Karnataka HC on Feb 6 had ordered the personal appearance in court of Siddaramaiah and other Congress leaders involved in the protest.

The Karnataka government signed an MOU with Tata Group Companies Air India and Tata Advanced Systems Limited on Monday  for an investment of Rs 2300 crore for various projects providing employment to 1,650 people.  An Air India Maintenance Repair Overhaul (MRO) and Aviation Hub, Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) P2F and Gun Manufacturing unit, are among the proposed projects. The MOU was signed in the presence of Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and Tata officials.

SC will hear Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah plea for quashing a 2022 case registered over a protest demanding the resignation of then BJP minister KS Eshwarappa. The Karnataka  HC on Feb 6 had ordered the personal appearance in court of Siddaramaiah and other Congress leaders involved in the protest.

The director of a cryptocurrency exchange, who reported the theft of 60.6 Bitcoin valued at Rs 1.14 crore in July 2017, paid money to a Bengaluru police officer to recover the virtual currency after the arrest of hacker Srikrishna Ramesh alias Sriki in 2020, a CID SIT probing a Bitcoin scam in Karnataka has found.

Harish B V, a co-founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Unocoin Technologies Pvt Ltd, paid Rs 7 lakh to Central Crime Branch (CCB) inspector Prashanth Babu to recover the Bitcoin that was allegedly stolen by Sriki after his arrest in November 2020, the SIT has stated in court filings after the arrest of the police officer on January 24. Read More