1. Bengaluru auto driver assault: After 13-hour struggle, police mention 鈥楯ai Shri Ram鈥 slogan chanting in FIR
It was a herculean task for autorickshaw driver Waseem and his family to convince the Sampigehalli police in Bengaluru to include in the complaint chanting of the 鈥淛ai Shree Ram鈥 slogan as the reason for his assault. The police allegedly refused to mention this detail citing that the issue would turn into a communal problem. It was only after a city-based activist approached the Assistant Commissioner of Police and told them to escalate the issue with the State Human rights commission that the FIR was finally registered by 11.30 p.m.
Waseem, a 35-year-old autorickshaw driver, was allegedly confronted by a group of drunk men and assaulted in Hegde Nagar after he refused to chant 鈥淛ai Shri Ram.鈥 Waseem and his friend Zameer Pasha were on their way to meet a friend and had stopped the autorickshaw at a vacant site to relieve themselves, when the group who were drinking nearby approached them. While Zameer managed to flee, the accused beat up Waseem and forced him to chant 鈥淛ai Shri Ram鈥 when he cried out 鈥淎llah鈥 in pain,鈥 said the complaint.
2. ED raids engineering colleges in Bengaluru in connection with seat blocking scam
Officials of the Enforcement Directorate searched 18 premises allegedly linked to the engineering seat blocking scam in private engineering colleges, in Bengaluru on June 25. The colleges include BMS College of Engineering, Akash Institute of Engineering and Technology, and New Horizon College of Engineering.
The premise searched includes the offices of the colleges, trustee of BMS and their main associates, office and residence of a few private education consultants, and a few seat blocking agents, according to a statement from the Enforcement Directorate. The ED is following a trail of money transactions running into crores of rupees.
3. Associate professor of Shivamogga Institute of Medical Sciences accused of sexually harassing PG student
A post-graduate student of Shivamogga Institute of Medical Sciences has filed a complaint against an associate professor, accusing him of sexually harassing her. The student filed the complaint with Shivamogga Women Police Station on June 20, accusing Dr. Ashwin Hebbar, associate professor of general surgery, of sexually harassing her during a dinner with other students at a hotel in the city a week before.
The police registered the case under Section 75(2) of the BNS, 2023, besides the SC&ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015. Before filing the police complaint, the student had complained to the administrative council of the college and the internal complaints committee of the institute.
4. Karnataka rains: Flood alert issued as inflow rises into Harangi dam
With the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing a red alert for Kodagu district in Karnataka until 8.30 a.m. on June 26, authorities have sounded a flood warning following a sharp rise in inflow into the Harangi dam near Kushalnagar.
At 4 p.m. on June 25, around 10,000 cusecs of water was discharged from the reservoir due to continuous rainfall in the catchment region. Officials caution that the inflow is expected to rise further if the rains continue.