23% of child marriages in India happen in Karnataka: Panel

January 21, 2017

Bengaluru, Jan 21: Karnataka registers 23.2% of child marriages reported in the country, according to the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR). The state is also among the top 10 in the country in reporting child marriages.

Kripa 2
Kripa Amar Alva, chairperson, KSCPCR, told reporters on Friday that the state had been either in the eighth or ninth position in the country with respect to child marriage, according to the National Health Mission.

She added that child marriage was mostly prevalent in parts of North Karnataka with a majority cases reported from Dharwad, Belagavi, Bagalkot and the surrounding districts. The highest numbers are from Yadgir.

She said the practice is prevalent in certain communities and added that a sizeable number of “Gujjar” marriages are also reported in the state.

Gujjar marriages

Explaining the practice of Gujjar marriages, she said, “Men from Gujarat and Rajasthan buy out young children by paying families Rs 10,000 in the name of marriage. They take them to their hometowns and abandon them. This could lead to more complicated issues such as trafficking and flesh trade.”

Members of the commission added that teenage affairs leading to child marriage are on the rise.

“There is a rise in youths eloping. Though parents are aware of it, they make no attempt to stop it fearing it might mar their image in society.”

The Commission for Protection of Child Rights will launch a campaign to prevent child marriages at Vidhana Soudha on Saturday by chief minister Siddaramaiah.

Website

The commission is also launching a new websiteKare' where complaints on a range of problems from education, visitation rights, child labour, ragging, corporal punishment and others can be filed.

The platform serves as a connect between 10 departments including education, labour, women and child welfare and the department of health and family welfare. Complaints lodged on the website are channeled to the departments concerned.

Alva said, “For instance, if someone lodges a complaint pertaining the education department, it would be sent to the DDPI. If it is unattended, the matter gets escalated to the DC.”

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News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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News Network
December 3,2025

arrival.jpg

Mangaluru, Dec 3: A group of Congress workers gathered at the Mangaluru International Airport on Wednesday to welcome AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, but the reception quickly turned into a display of support for Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.

Venugopal arrived in the city to participate in the centenary commemoration of the historic dialogue between Mahatma Gandhi and Narayana Guru. The event, organised by the Sivagiri Mutt, Varkala, in association with the Mangalore University Sri Narayana Guru Study Chair, is being held on the university’s Konaje campus.

KPCC general secretary Mithun Rai and several party workers had assembled at the airport to receive Venugopal. However, the moment he stepped out, workers began raising slogans backing Shivakumar.

The university programme will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

This show of support comes just a day after Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar would lead the government “when the high command decides.” The chief minister made the comment after a breakfast meeting at Shivakumar’s residence—another public display of camaraderie between the two leaders amid ongoing attempts by the party high command to downplay their leadership rivalry.

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News Network
December 2,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 2: Mangaluru International Airport responded to a medical emergency late on Monday night. Air India Express flight IX 522, travelling from Riyadh to Thiruvananthapuram, was diverted to Mangaluru Airport after a passenger in his late 30s experienced a medical emergency on board.

The Airport’s Operations Control Centre received an alert regarding the passenger’s health condition. The airport activated its emergency response protocol, mobilising the airport medical team and coordinating with stakeholders including CISF, immigration, and customs. 

Upon landing, airport medical personnel attended to the passenger, assessed his condition, and arranged to shift him to a local tertiary-care hospital for further treatment. The passenger’s relatives accompanied the passenger, who incidentally received necessary medical care on board, which helped stabilise the situation.

Following the handling of the emergency, the flight departed for Thiruvananthapuram at 2:05 am on Tuesday.

"We appreciate the cooperation of all parties involved, and this incident reaffirms our ongoing commitment to prioritising passenger safety and readiness to respond to unforeseen emergencies with professionalism and care," the Airport spokesperson said. 

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