Medical professor arrested for setting 11 cars ablaze

News Network
January 18, 2018

Belagavi, Jan 18: A doctor-cum-professor was arrested by the Belagavi police on charges of setting fire to 11 cars parked on the road side in the city.

The accused, Dr Amit Gaekwad (37), is an assistant professor in the Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences, and has a postgraduate degree in medicine. He hails from Kalaburagi and has been a resident of Belagavi for 10 years now.

Gaekwad was caught by a security guard at a residential complex in Visvesvaraya Nagar where he tried to set fire to a car.

The police who arrived on the spot, found materials like camphor, engine oil, old rags, matchboxes, lighter and knives. He had set fire to 11 cars in Jadhav Nagar and military camp area on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, police said.

He would pour oil inside the car bonnet, set fire to a piece of camphor and throw it inside the bonnet, and the engine would catch fire immediately, police said. This seems to be his modus operandi.

He has not told why he was setting fire to others’ cars. He is only saying he has a receipt for the camphor he bought, Deputy Commissioner of Police Seema Latkar said.

She said he had issues of maladjustment in his college and his senior officers were planning to send him on long leave.

A team of officers are investigating whether similar incidents in Kalaburgi are related to the offences in Belagavi.

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News Network
December 15,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 15: Air India Express has announced that it will resume direct flight services between Mangaluru and Muscat from March 2026, restoring an important international air link for passengers from the coastal region.

Airport authorities said the service will operate twice a week—on Sundays and Tuesdays—from March 1. The initial flights are scheduled on March 3, 8 and 10, followed by March 15 and 17, with the same operating pattern to continue thereafter. The flight duration is approximately three hours and 25 minutes.

The Mangaluru–Muscat route was earlier operated under the 2025 summer schedule, with services beginning on July 14. At that time, Air India Express had operated four flights a week before suspending the service.

Officials said the summer schedule will come into effect from March 29, after which changes in flight timings and departure schedules from Mangaluru are expected. Passengers have been advised to check the latest schedules while planning their travel.

The resumption of direct flights to Muscat is expected to significantly benefit expatriates, business travellers and others, further strengthening Mangaluru’s air connectivity with the Gulf region.

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