17-year-old student found shot dead in Karnataka’s capital

News Network

September 17, 2021

Bengaluru, Sept 17: In a shocking incident, a 17-year-old boy was found dead with a gunshot wound in the early hours on Friday at a BMTC bus stop near Indian Air Force Headquarters Training Command in RMV Second Stage in Bengaluru.

The police suspect that the deceased boy allegedly shot himself with his father's licensed pistol.

The deceased has been identified as Rahul Bandari, a resident of Ganganagar of RT Nagar. According to a preliminary investigation, Sadashivanagar police said that Rahul was found dead on the pavement of the BMTC bus stop around 5.30 am.

A passerby who noticed him lying in the pool of blood alerted the police. On reaching the spot police found that Rahul had a gunshot wound on his head. A pistol, pistol bag, a belt and a mobile phone were lying next to his body.

Rahul was studying in class XI in the Army Public School. He was the son of retired Army Havaldar Bhagath Singh. Rahul was staying along with his parents and elder sister in a rented house in Ganganagar.

MN Anucheth, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) after visiting the spot, told media persons that prima facie it appears that Rahul had shot himself. There is a bullet entry injury on the right side of his head and an exit wound on the left side.

Rahul left his house around 3.30 am for a walk. While leaving, he carried his father's pistol kept in almirah without anybody noticing it. When he came to the bus stop, he allegedly shot himself. The reason for his extreme step is yet to be ascertained, Anucheth said.

Rahul used to go for a walk in the morning and at night whenever he felt stressed after studying. He was preparing for his class exams. He was studying from Thursday night till the wee hours on Friday.

His parents tried to reach him on his mobile phone to check if he had gone for a morning walk, but the calls went answered, a senior investigating officer said.

According to Rahul's parents, they had trained him on using the pistol. Bhagat brought the pistol in 2017. The family hails from Uttarakhand and has been residing in Bengaluru for almost two decades. The parents are shocked by the extreme step of Rahul. He didn't have any issues at home, he was also good at studies and had scored around 90 percent in his class X, the officer added. A case of unnatural death has been registered by Sadashivanagar and further investigation is on.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

Mangaluru’s KPT becomes India’s first autonomous govt polytechnic

News Network

January 23,2026

Mangaluru: The Karnataka Government Polytechnic (KPT), Mangaluru, has achieved autonomous status from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), becoming the first government polytechnic in the country to receive such recognition in its 78-year history. The status was granted by AICTE, New Delhi, and subsequently approved by the Karnataka Board of Technical Education in October last year.

Officials said the autonomy was conferred a few months ago. Until recently, AICTE extended autonomous status only to engineering colleges, excluding diploma institutions. However, with a renewed national focus on skill development, several government polytechnics across India have now been granted autonomy.

KPT, the second-largest polytechnic in Karnataka, was established in 1946 with four branches and has since expanded to offer eight diploma programmes, including computer science and polymer technology. The institution is spread across a 19-acre campus.

Ravindra M Keni, the first dean of the institution, told The Times of India that AICTE had proposed autonomous status for polytechnic institutions that are over 25 years old. “Many colleges applied. In the first round, 100 institutions were shortlisted, which was further narrowed down to 15 in the second round. We have already completed one semester after becoming an autonomous institution,” he said. He added that nearly 500 students are admitted annually across eight three-year diploma courses.

Explaining the factors that helped KPT secure autonomy, Keni said the institution has consistently recorded 100 per cent admissions and placements for its graduates. He also noted its strong performance in sports, with the college emerging champions for 12 consecutive years, along with active student participation in NCC and NSS activities.

Autonomous status allows KPT to design industry-oriented curricula, conduct examinations, prepare question papers, and manage academic documentation independently. The institution can also directly collaborate with industries and receive priority funding from AICTE or the Ministry of Education. While academic autonomy has been granted, financial control will continue to rest with the state government.

“There will be separate committees for examinations, question paper setting, boards of studies, and boards of examiners. The institution will now have the freedom to conduct admissions without government notifications and issue its own marks cards,” Keni said, adding that new academic initiatives would be planned after a year of functioning under the autonomous framework.

Comments