Murder over lewd messages: ‘Used fan club convenor to abduct youth, attacked him with belt and sticks before killing him’

Mangaluru: The by-election to the legislative council from the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi local authorities' constituency will be a contest among four candidates. An independent candidate, Muhammed Riyaz, has withdrawn his nomination on Monday, the last day for withdrawal.

Deputy commissioner Mullai Muhilan MP stated that candidates Kishore BR (BJP), Raju Poojary (Congress), Anwar Sadat S (SDPI), and Dinakar Ullal (independent) will be in the fray. 

Polling will be held at 392 booths in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts between 8am and 4pm on Oct 21.

A total of 6,032 voters from Dakshina Kannada and Udupi are eligible to vote. While there will be 234 polling booths in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi will have 158 stations. Gram panchayat members, corporators of the Mangaluru City Corporation, members of city municipal councils, town municipal councils, town panchayats, MLAs, MLCs, and Lok Sabha members are eligible to vote.

Election observer of the Election Commission of India (ECI), Pankaj Kumar Pandey, reviewed the poll preparations at the deputy commissioner's office on Monday. He issued directions to officials regarding arrangements to be made during the election and counting of votes.

The deputy commissioner stated that out of 6,032 voters, 3,127 are women and 2,905 are men. He said the counting of votes will be held at St Aloysius PU College in the city on Oct 24.

Udupi deputy commissioner Vidya Kumari K, city police commissioner Anupam Agrawal, Dakshina Kannada ZP CEO Anandh K, Dakshina Kannada SP Yathish N, Udupi SP Arun K, and additional deputy commissioners Santhosh Kumar G and Mamatha Devi were present.

The international charity Save the Children has described the conditions in Gaza as akin to the “depths of hell,” saying the aggression on the besieged territory is in fact a “war on children” as nowhere is safe.

The Middle East regional director for Save the Children, Jeremy Stoner, in a statement on Monday said, “What we’re seeing now in Gaza looks like the depths of hell with reports day after day of attacks on children and families. Nowhere is safe.”

The British NGO issued a grave warning about the escalating crisis in Gaza, stating that “evacuation orders” could soon turn into “execution orders” as children face severe deprivation of essential resources for survival.

Stoner made the remarks while explaining about the dire humanitarian situation across Gaza. He noted that in the north of Gaza Strip, a desperate population has been deprived of food for two weeks, trapped in a perilous kill zone while trying to escape relentless bombings and gunfire.

Meanwhile, in the south, where families from the north sought refuge, Israeli airstrikes have ignited a devastating fire that is engulfing Al-Aqsa Hospital and surrounding tents, with reports of rescuers discovering the remains of burned victims.

“Never has it been clearer that this is a war on children, their protection only upheld if they’re deemed a risk to those beyond their borders,” the statement said.

It added that Save the Children begun a second round of polio vaccines for children in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza , as "children face bombs and fire just 500 meter away."

Elsewhere in his remarks, Stoner underlined the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and said that the absence of a ceasefire means that vaccinations for children merely delay their suffering instead of eliminating it.

“Without immediate international action, children and families across the Gaza Strip face a death sentence – today, tomorrow, in a week, in a month, by bombs, bullets, fire, disease or starvation. Anywhere, any time,” he said.

Stoner further raised concerns about humanity's moral compass, arguing those with the power and legal responsibility to intervene in this violence opt to remain passive, regretting that some member states have only responded by supplying weapons used to kill children and burn patients and families in hospitals and tents.

“Gaza is what can happen without the rules of war. Except there are rules – for parties to the conflict, and for the international community – which are not being respected,” the NGO said.

The Israeli aggression against Gaza which began in October last year has so far 42,289 people. Over 98,689 Gazans have also been injured since then.

Mangaluru: In a shocking case of cyber fraud, an engineer from Mangaluru lost ₹30 lakh after being deceived by a scammer posing as a Mumbai police head constable.

On October 10, the engineer received a phone call, during which the scammer falsely claimed that 25 fraudulent bank accounts had been opened in his name. The caller alleged these accounts were being used for illegal transactions and urged the victim to act immediately to avoid legal trouble.

The scammer manipulated the engineer into believing that all funds in his personal bank account needed to be transferred for "verification" by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In a state of panic, the victim complied, transferring ₹30 lakh to multiple accounts provided by the fraudster.

Adding to the deception, the victim was told to send WhatsApp updates every 20 minutes to track the "progress." Realizing the fraud only after the transfers were completed, the victim filed a complaint, and a case has been registered at the Bajpe police station.

This incident serves as a stark reminder for the public to stay cautious and verify information before acting on unsolicited calls, especially those involving sensitive financial details.