The absconding driver of the ill-fated boat, which capsized three days ago in Malappuram district of Kerala leading to the deaths of 22 people, was taken into custody, police said here on Wednesday.

A constable was shot dead in Orai area here on Wednesday while he was chasing some suspicious persons on a bike, police said.

Voter turnout picked up momentum and crossed the 50 per cent mark by 3 pm on Wednesday, in polling to elect representatives to the 224-member Karnataka Legislative Assembly.

Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, who was arrested dramatically on Tuesday in a corruption case, is likely to remain in the custody of the country's anti-graft agency for "four to five days" and is expected to be presented before an accountability court, a media report said on Wednesday.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai cast his ballot in the Assembly election on Wednesday at Shiggaon in Haveri district.

Polling commenced today for the State Assembly general elections across eight assembly constituencies in the district. From the early morning hours, voters were observed forming queues outside several polling booths. To ensure the smooth conduct of polling, over 4,500 police and paramilitary officers have been deployed in the district.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday urged the people of Karnataka to vote in large numbers to build a progressive and a "40-per cent-commission-free" state.

Kolkata: Senior Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday asserted that as the ED has found involvement of a section of BSF personnel in cattle smuggling to Bangladesh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah cannot skirt responsibility on the matter as the force is under his ministry.