Aiming to regain coastal Karnataka, Congress fields strong candidates in DK, Udupi, UK

A 19-year-old boy, studying in Class 12 in Haryana’s Faridabad, was chased in a car and shot dead by a group of five cow vigilantes who allegedly mistook him for a cattle smuggler, police said on Tuesday.

A Duster car in which the boy, Aryan Mishra, and his friends Harshit and Shanky as well as two other women seated in the back of the vehicle, was chased by the members of cow vigilante group on the night of August 23 for about 30 kilometers near Haryana’s Gadhpuri on the Delhi-Agra National Highway.

Police have identified and arrested all the five accused – Saurabh, Anil Kaushik, Varun, Krishna and Adesh. A report by Hindustan Times quoted police sources as saying that the weapon used to kill the victim was illegal.

All the five accused cow vigilantes were grilled by the cops who revealed that they had received information that on the night of August 23, some suspected cattle “smugglers” were carrying out surveillance in the city in Renault Duster and Toyota Fortuner and picking up cattle in the area.  

The accused also claimed they were told that the alleged cattle smugglers had also called their associates  to pick up cows in a truck from isolated areas in the city.  

The cow vigilantes, who were also in a car, spotted a Duster at Patel Chowk in which Aryan Mishra was seated with his friends.  

The vehicle was being driven by Harshit and was stopped by the accused, but they instead accelerated, following which they opened fire and a bullet hit Aryan Mishra, who was seated in the passenger seat, near his neck.  

After Aryan was shot, Harshit pulled over the SUV near the Gadhpuri toll in Palwal, but the attackers approached and fired another shot into Aryan Mishra’s chest, resulting in his death.

The accused saw the women in the car and realised that they had shot a wrong person after which they fled.  

Police said despite being asked to stop, Harshit sped the vehicle as Shanky, who was also in the car, was recently involved in a dispute with a man and a case had been registered against him. They thought goons were sent to kill them.

With the SUV not stopping and instead running away, the cow vigilantes thought the cattle smugglers were in it and they started to chase the vehicle which broke through the barrier at the Palwal toll plaza.  

The accused have been sent to judicial custody after being presented in a city court.

Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar visited Kesavanahalli village in Sakleshpur taluk, Hassan district, on Wednesday to inspect the trial run of the Yettinahole project, particularly near the Kumbaradadi coffee estate.

During his visit, Shivakumar announced, "Today, we have initiated trial runs for five of the eight check dams, lifting around 1,500 cusecs of water. The remaining works will be launched by the Chief Minister at an auspicious time. I will discuss this further with the Chief Minister."

Highlighting the importance of the project, he added, "The Yettinahole project is a key initiative for our government. I commenced the trial run with a 'Ganga puja.' Although officials provided me with documents and videos, I wanted to see the progress firsthand, which is why I visited the site today."

Shivakumar also shared the financial progress of the project, stating that Rs 16.152 crore has been utilized as of July 2024. He outlined plans to prioritize the project's completion by March 31, 2027.

The Yettinahole project aims to supply 24.01 tmc of water for drinking purposes to several districts, including Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara, Tumakuru, Hassan, and Chikkamagaluru. Approximately 14.056 tmc of water will be distributed to 38 towns and 6,657 villages across 29 drought-affected taluks, benefiting 7.559 million people. Additionally, the project plans to release 9.953 tmc-ft of water to 527 lakes in Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Bengaluru Rural, Hassan, and Tumakuru.

Addressing delays, Shivakumar stated, "During my previous visit, I had set a deadline, but the project has been delayed by two to three months. However, we have managed to complete most of the work, except for tasks related to the Forest Department. We will engage with the department to address these pending issues."

Also present at the inspection were Minister D. Sudhakar, MP Shreyas Patel, MLA K.M. Shivalingegowda, Sharat Bachegowda, Additional Principal Secretary of Water Resources Gaurav Gupta, Deputy Commissioner Satyabhama, and other officials.

Mandya: Accusing the opposition BJP of attempting 'Operation Kamala' to destabilise the Siddaramaiah-led government in Karnataka, a ruling party MLA on Sunday claimed that efforts were on to entice Congress legislators, by offering Rs 100 crore.

Congress MLA from Mandya Ravikumar Gowda (Ravi Ganiga) alleged that though attempts are on by the BJP to destabilise the government by luring MLAs, no legislator will fall for it, and the government was stable and strong.

‘Operation Kamala’ (Operation Lotus) refers to an alleged attempt of the BJP to engineer defection of its opponent party legislators to install its own government and to ensure its stability.

"Even today I'm saying, they (BJP) have now raised the offer to Rs 100 crore from Rs 50 crore, someone had called day-before-yesterday saying hundred (crore) ready, (wanted) to purchase 50 MLAs. BJP people have gone from Rs 50 crore to Rs 100 crore," Gowda said in response to a reporter's question.

Addressing media here, he said, "Someone had called me, I told him to keep Rs 100 crore with himself, I thought of complaining to ED." "Everyday they (BJP) are planning to dislodge our government, from Rs 50 crore, they have now gone to Rs 100 crore offer, but our government is stable, the Chief Minister is also strong," he added.

Earlier, in October last year too, Gowda had claimed that a team was trying to lure Congress legislators with offers of Rs 50 crore and ministerial positions. He had said that four legislators have been contacted, and there is evidence to support this claim.

Gowda today accused BJP national General Secretary Organisation B L Santhosh, Union Ministers Shobha Karnadlaje, Pralhad Joshi and H D Kumaraswamy (of JDS) of working as a "gang" to destabilise the Congress government in the state.

With 136 MLAs the Congress government is "strong like a rock", there is a popular CM, who is pro-poor, and no one can dislodge it, he further said. "But these people have promised PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and are walking around with an aim to topple the government."

Alleging that BJP's "brokers" are contacting Congress MLAs every day, Gowda said, "none of our MLAs will fall for it... they (BJP)want to dislodge the government, by purchasing MLAs. They want to destabilise, as Congress is strong in Karnataka."

"We are collecting evidence, we will give it to ED, CBI, we want to catch them with the bag of cash...I have the audio of the person who had called me, he should be feeling his heart beat now, we will release it at the right time," he added.