Interstate network of thieves busted: five held, five cars seized

Madikeri: A 15-year-old was bludgeoned to death and the accused fled with her severed head at Mutlu village in Somwarpet of Kodagu district on Thursday late night, hours after her SSLC examination result was declared.  

The victim has been identified as US Meena, a 10th grade student of Surlabbi High School. She had passed the SSLC examination and her school attained 100% results. 

However, she was brutally murdered by accused Prakash (32), a resident of the village. The police have launched a search operation to find the suspect, said Kodagu SP K Ramarajan 

It is said that the minor girl's engagement with the suspect was thwarted by officials from Women and Child Development department on May 9, and later officials had even convinced her parents of not to marry the minor girl.

However, the suspect barged into her house in the night and allegedly kidnapped her. Later, he took her to an area near the periphery of the forest and murdered her after which he fled with her severed head.

Victim's mother too has suffered injuries and is admitted to a hospital for treatment. The reason for the murder will be known after the probing officials have inquired the victim's mother, said the SP. 

Mangaluru, May 3: The Mangaluru City Corporation will resort to water rationing from May 5 as the Thumbe vented dam, which supplies drinking water to the city, is facing a shortage in water storage.

Instead of daily supply, water will be supplied on alternate days, the Executive Engineer (Water Supply) at the corporation said in a release.

The release said that water will be supplied to Mangaluru City North on May 5. There will be no water supply to Mangaluru City North on May 6. Instead water will be supplied to Mangaluru City South on May 6. Likewise the supply on alternate days will continue.

The inflow in the Netravathi has stopped, the release said, requesting people to cooperate with the corporation and not waste water for washing vehicles and other purposes.

An engineer at the corporation said that water level at the dam stood at 4.27 m on Wednesday against the full storage level of 6 m. If water is supplied daily to the entire city (Mangaluru City North and Mangaluru City South) the existing storage will last only for 16 days, the engineer said. Hence the decision to supply water on alternate days has been taken to supply water till May-end.

Mangaluru, May 12: In a shocking development, a group of pilgrims which had travelled from Mangaluru International Airport to Saudi Arabia earlier this month, to perform Umrah has alleged that 26,432 Saudi Riyals, which were kept in a bag, have been stolen. 

In a complaint submitted to the Bajpe Police, Soukath Banu, wife of Ahmed Iqbal of Ajyad Tours and Travels, said that her husband, Ahmed Iqbal, along with 35 members, planned and scheduled to perform the Umrah and were travelling from Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) via Mumbai to Jeddah. 

Soukath Banu had given Ahmed Iqbal 2,000 Saudi Riyals for performing Umrah and other expenses. The group members were also told to bring Saudi Riyals to meet their expenses.

In her plaint, Soukath stated that the group had left for Jeddah on an IndiGo flight via Mumbai, and their return ticket to India was booked for May 13. 

At the airport, she said that 26,432 Saudi Riyals were collected in total, and they decided to keep them in baggage that had a lock. Accordingly, it was kept in the bag of Mohammad Badruddin Kadambar. The airport staff had even questioned what he had kept in the bag. 

The group reached Jeddah on May 1. To their surprise, Kadambar found that the baggage lock was broken open, the zip was damaged, and cash was stolen upon reaching Jeddah.

DCP (Law and Order) Sidharth Goyal said that following the complaint, one round of CCTV checks was conducted at the MIA along with the CISF personnel. The loading at the MIA was intact.

Further checks have to be carried out at Mumbai and Jeddah Airport as the victim found out that cash was missing only when they got the bag at the final destination, he added.