Bengaluru: Dr. Richard Vincent D'Souza, a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, has been appointed as a State Information Commissioner for the Karnataka Information Commission’s Bengaluru Bench. The appointment was made through a notification issued by the Governor of Karnataka, Thaawarchand Gehlot, on Tuesday.

According to the notification, two other commissioners have also been appointed, B. Venkat Singh for the Kalaburagi Bench and Dr. Mahesh Walwekar for the Bengaluru Bench. The appointments were made under sub-section (3) of Section 15 of the Right to Information Act, 2005, and the terms of service will be governed by Section 16 of the Act and the Karnataka Right to Information (Term of Office, Salaries, Allowances and Other Conditions of Service) Rules, 2019.

Dr. D'Souza, who served in the IAS between 2015 and 2024, held several administrative positions in the Karnataka government, including Secretary in the Planning Department and the Industries and Commerce Department. He has also served as Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate of Kodagu, Managing Director of Hutti Gold Mines Company Ltd., and Mission Director of the National Health Mission.

Before joining the IAS, Dr. D'Souza worked in the Karnataka Transport Department from 1991 to 2014, where he was involved in driver training and road safety initiatives. He began his professional career as an Aero Engineer at Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) on the Light Combat Aircraft project.

He holds a Ph.D. in Driver Behaviour from Bangalore University, an MBA in Human Resource Management from Karnataka State Open University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Surathkal.

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Kasaragod: Security was stepped up at the Kasaragod District Collector’s office after an email warning of a bomb threat was received on Friday evening.

Officials said the message prompted an immediate response from the police, who alerted senior officers and rushed security teams to the spot. The bomb disposal squad and dog squad were also pressed into service.

A detailed search was carried out inside the Collector’s office and in the surrounding premises. Police later confirmed that no explosives or suspicious items were found during the operation.

Preliminary investigation showed that the threat email originated from Ukraine. Police have begun efforts to trace the sender and verify the source of the message.