How a cricket tournament sponsored by BJP leader ended up in murder of an engineer and a PUC student

News Network
February 20, 2023

Bengaluru, Feb 20: The brutal murder of two young men at Doddabelavangala village on the outskirts of Bengaluru has shone light on sports tournaments sponsored by politicians. 

Bharath Kumar (23), an engineering graduate working for a private firm, and Prateek N (17), a PUC student, were fatally stabbed by a five-member gang during violence that erupted after a fight over car parking around 3.10 pm on February 17. 

Vinay, 27, the son of a former president of Hulikunte gram panchayat, his younger brother Anil, and three others had tried to drive into the Karnataka Public School playground where the cricket tournament was being played. Organisers and participants asked them not to park there. 

An argument ensued, and the crowd at the ground smashed the car and forced the group to leave. 

The brothers and their three friends, Trimurthy, Kori and Deepu, later got into a fight with local residents — Channappa, Kitty, Chikka Ramaiah and Nagaraju — who gave them an earful for causing disturbance. The group attacked them with pepper spray. They also pulled out cricket bats, wickets, hockey sticks, daggers and rods, and went on a  rampage. 

They attacked Kumar and Prateek, assuming that they were also part of the crowd as they wore T-shirts provided by the tournament organisers. Prateek was stabbed with a dagger that remained stuck in his private parts while Kumar was knifed in the lower abdomen. 

Superintendent of Police Mallikarjun Baldandi, Bengaluru Rural, said that the murders were "spontaneous" but they were investigating whether or not the victims were part of the crowd that had smashed the car. 

On Sunday, police shot Vinay and Trimurthy in the right leg after they allegedly tried to attack constables Qarar Hussain and Sunil Basagi with a knife and stones. Anil, Kori and Deepu remain at large. 

The tournament was sponsored by Dheeraj, a local BJP leader who aspires to contest the Assembly election from Doddaballapur. 

Following the murders, police have banned all sports tournaments sponsored by politicians until the elections get over. 

Vinay and Anil's mother Parvathamma was the president of Hulikunte gram panchayat. She was an independent but received support from the Congress party. 

Doddaballapur's Congress MLA, T Venkataramanaiah, said that the tournament's organisers hadn't taken permission from the school principal or the police. 

"They submitted a written request to the police, who acknowledged the letter but didn't give permission," he said.

"Had the organisers taken police permission, the cops would have provided security at the school ground and averted the fight over parking. These unfortunate murders over parking wouldn't have occurred." 

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News Network
December 6,2025

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With IndiGo flight disruptions impacting thousands of passengers, the airline on Saturday said that it will offer full waiver on all cancellations/reschedule requests for travel bookings between December 5, 2025 and December 15, 2025.

Earlier in the day, the civil aviation ministry had directed the airline to complete the ticket refund process for the cancelled flights by Sunday evening, as well as ensure baggage separated from the travellers are delivered in the next two days.

In a post on X, titled 'No questions asked', IndiGo wrote, "In response to recent events, all refunds for your cancellations will be processed automatically to your original mode of payment."

"We are deeply sorry for the hardships caused," it further added.

Several passengers, however, complained of not getting full refund as promised by the airline.

Netizens have shared screenchots of getting charged for airline cancellation fee and convenience fee.

"Please tell me why u have did this airline cancellation charges when u say full amount will be refunded (sic)," a user wrote sharing a screenshot of the refund page.

"Well, but you have still debited the convenience charges," wrote another.

Passengers have also raised concerns about the "cancel" option being disabled on the IndiGo app. "First enable the 'Cancel' button on your App & offer full refund on tickets cancelled by customers between the said dates," wrote a user.

A day after the country's largest airline, IndiGo, cancelled more than 1,000 flights and caused disruptions for the fifth day on Saturday, the ministry said that any delay or non-compliance in refund processing will invite immediate regulatory action.

The refund process for all cancelled or disrupted flights must be completed by 8 pm on Sunday, the ministry said in a statement.

"Airlines have also been instructed not to levy any rescheduling charges for passengers whose travel plans were affected by cancellations," it said.

On Saturday, more than 400 flights were cancelled at various airports.

IndiGo has also been instructed to set up dedicated passenger support and refund facilitation cells.

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News Network
November 26,2025

Mangaluru, Nov 26: Assembly Speaker and local MLA U.T. Khader has initiated a high-level push to resolve one of Mangaluru’s longest-standing traffic headaches: the narrow, high-density stretch of National Highway-66 between Nanthoor and Talapady.

He announced on Tuesday that a formal proposal has been submitted to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) seeking approval to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the widening of this crucial corridor.

The plan specifically aims to expand the existing 45-meter road width to a full 60 meters, coupled with the construction of dedicated service roads. Khader highlighted that land for a 60-meter highway was originally acquired during the initial four-laning project, but only 45 meters were developed, leading to a perpetual bottleneck.

"With vehicle density rising sharply, the expansion has become unavoidable," Khader stated, stressing that the upgrade is essential for ensuring smoother traffic flow and improving safety at the city's main entry and exit points.

The stretch between Nanthoor and Talapady is a vital link on the busy Kochi-Panvel coastal highway and connects to major city junctions. The move to utilize the previously acquired land for the full 60-meter width is seen as a necessary measure to catch up with the region's rapid vehicular growth and prevent further traffic gridlocks.

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Agencies
November 22,2025

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New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump has again claimed to have solved the conflict between India and Pakistan, repeating his assertion during a meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office.

Mamdani flew to Washington DC for his first meeting with Trump in the White House on Friday. Trump said he “enjoyed” the meeting, which he described as “great.”

During remarks in the Oval Office, with Mamdani standing next to him, Trump repeated his claim that he solved the May conflict between India and Pakistan.

"I did eight peace deals of countries, including India and Pakistan,” he said.

On Wednesday, Trump had said he threatened to put 350 per cent tariffs on India and Pakistan if they did not end their conflict, repeating his claim that he solved the fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him to say “we're not going to go to war.”

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Mamdani emerged victorious in the closely-watched battle for New York City Mayor, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the largest city in the US.

He had been the front-runner in the NYC Mayoral election for months and defeated Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and political heavyweight former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate and was officially endorsed by Trump just hours before the elections.

Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Mamdani became a naturalised US citizen only recently, in 2018.

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