Udupi (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly trying to run over policemen who tried to stop them near the Hejamadi toll plaza, police said on Saturday.

Mohammad Azeem of Kaup and Mohammad Razik of Bajpe were arrested on Friday night, they said.

The incident occurred on August 5, following which both escaped to Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The police tracked them and made the arrests when they returned to the district on September 5.

Another suspect in the case was arrested on the spot the same day.

According to the police, all of them were travelling in an SUV and were carrying cattle illegally to a slaughterhouse from Gangolli to Mangaluru on the day of incident.

Superintendent of Police Hariram Shankar recalled that the confrontation began when Gangolli police, acting on a tip-off, intercepted an SUV carrying stolen cattle near the tollgate.

The suspects allegedly attempted to flee by ramming the vehicle into officers and a toll patrol car.

During the attack, Sub-Inspector Basavaraj Kanashetty was knocked down and sustained injuries. Constable Sandeep was also hurt while trying to intercept the vehicle.

According to him, police managed to apprehend Sharoz, who was later presented in court. The other suspects, reportedly with four to five stolen cattle in the SUV, fled after ramming another vehicle. All three of them have pending cases of cow lifting in various police stations in three coastal districts of Karnataka.

Both men were arrested, and police said further procedures are underway in connection with the illegal transportation of cattle and attempt to endanger law enforcement personnel, a senior police officer said.

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Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has ruled out any relaxation of the minimum age limit for admission to Class 1 beginning with the academic year 2026-27. Following the refusal, a group of parents continues to press for leniency.

Parents of children who fall under the age of six by a small margin on the cut-off date have met Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and senior officials from the Department of School Education and Literacy to request an exemption. School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa said that the government will not change its decision, as reported by Deccan Herald.

According to the minister, children must be six years old by June 1 to be eligible for admission to Class 1. beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. He noted that the previous relaxation was a one-time measure that was clearly confined to the 2025-26 academic year.


“If such requests are entertained every year, it will never end. While granting relaxation last year, it was explicitly stated that it applied only to one academic year. From 2026-27 onwards, the rule will be strictly implemented,” Bangarappa was quoted by DH.

Parents argue that the rigid cut-off is affecting children who are short by a few days. One parent was quoted by DH as saying that his daughter would be 12 days short of completing six years on June 1. Such parents would be forced to repeat a year despite being academically ready. Others pointed out that children promoted from LKG to UKG during the 2025-26 academic year are now facing uncertainty over their transition to Class 1.

Few parents also recalled that earlier, admissions were allowed for children aged between five years and 10 months and six years. Parents saw it as a more practical approach, with children born in November and December being disproportionately affected.

The issue of age criterion goes back to a government order issued in July 2022. The order mandated six years as the minimum age for Class 1 admission. Parents of children already enrolled in pre-primary classes, protested against the order and the state deferred implementation, announcing that the rule would come into force from the 2025-26 academic year.

After renewed pressure, the government granted a one-year relaxation for 2025-26, citing the large number of students affected and in consultation with the State Education Policy Commission. While announcing the exemption, the minister had stated that no further concessions would be allowed.