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3 priests found brutally murdered in the courtyard of temple in Mandya

News Network
September 11, 2020

Mandya, Sept 11: Three priests were found brutally murdered in the courtyard of Sri Arakeshwara Temple at Guttalu on the outskirts of Mandya city on Friday morning.

The bodies of the priests, identified as Ganesh, Prakash and Anand, were found in a pool of blood with their heads crushed with boulders. The bodies were spotted by the villagers after they found the temple door open.

The three deceased were cousins and served as temple priests. The three used to sleep on the premises for security of the temple and its property, the police stated.

The temples come under the Muzrai department and this temple at Guttalu was rated as ‘B’ Group temple. IGP (Southern Range) Vipul Kumar rushed from Mysuru and visited the crime scene.

It is suspected that all three were killed in their sleep as there were no clues of any kind of resistance. The cops suspect that more than three attackers could be involved in the murders. Police is suspecting that robbery could be the motive behind these murders as the three hundis were moved outside the temple premises and the offerings, mainly cash, was looted.

The emptied kanike hundis (money collection boxes) were found outside the temple. The killers had managed to escape with the cash in the three hundi boxes leaving behind only coins of various denominations, which are found spilled near hundis.

Police said that before escaping, the miscreants also ransacked the sanctum sanctorum of the temple in search of more valuables and cash.

Mandya police is taking help of sniffer dogs to track the culprits and forensic experts have started collecting the evidences from the crime scene. Mandya SP Parashuram said that special teams will be formed to trace the culprits. A case has been registered in Mandya East police station.

ಹತ್ಯೆಗೊಳಗಾದ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನದ ಪೂಜಾರಿಗಳ ಕುಟುಂಬಕ್ಕೆ ತಲಾ 5.00 ಲಕ್ಷ ರೂ. ಪರಿಹಾರ ನೀಡಲಾಗುವುದು. ತಪ್ಪಿತಸ್ಥರ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಕೂಡಲೇ ಸೂಕ್ತ ಕಾನೂ… https://t.co/eK008P8BCn
— CM of Karnataka (@CMofKarnataka) 1599802227000

Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each for the families of the three deceased.

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News Network
January 23,2026

Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot read only three lines from the 122-paragraph address prepared by the Congress-led state government while addressing the joint session of the Legislature on Thursday, effectively bypassing large sections critical of the BJP-led Union government.

The omitted portions of the customary Governor’s address outlined what the state government described as a “suppressive situation in economic and policy matters” under India’s federal framework. The speech also sharply criticised the Centre’s move to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, commonly referred to as the VB-GRAM (G) Act.

Governor Gehlot had earlier conveyed his objection to several paragraphs that were explicitly critical of the Union government. On Thursday, he confined himself to the opening lines — “I extend a warm welcome to all of you to the joint session of the State legislature. I am extremely pleased to address this august House” — before jumping directly to the concluding sentence of the final paragraph.

He ended the address by reading the last line of paragraph 122: “Overall, my government is firmly committed to doubling the pace of the State’s economic, social and physical development. Jai Hind — Jai Karnataka.”

According to the prepared speech, the Karnataka government demanded the scrapping of the VB-GRAM (G) Act, describing it as “contractor-centric” and detrimental to rural livelihoods, and called for the full restoration of MGNREGA. The state government argued that the new law undermines decentralisation, weakens labour protections, and centralises decision-making in violation of constitutional norms.

Key points from the unread sections of the speech:

•    Karnataka facing a “suppressive” economic and policy environment within the federal system

•    Repeal of MGNREGA described as a blow to rural livelihoods

•    VB-GRAM (G) Act accused of protecting corporate and contractor interests

•    New law alleged to weaken decentralised governance

•    Decision-making said to be imposed by the Centre without consulting states

•    Rights of Adivasis, women, backward classes and agrarian communities curtailed

•    Labourers allegedly placed under contractor control

•    States facing mounting fiscal stress due to central policies

•    VB-GRAM (G) Act accused of enabling large-scale corruption

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