Bengaluru: Federation of Karnataka State Lorry Owners and Agents Association on Monday threatened to launch a transport strike from May 1 onwards if the state government does not roll back the “unscientific” price hike imposed on the transport sector before 30 April.

Addressing a press conference, the association Secretary C Nandish Reddy said, “Since 1 April, older vehicles are subjected to 16 times more fees which has taken a toll on the lives of poor people. Moreover, the validity of fitness certificates have been reduced, throwing the transport sector off balance.”

He alleged that the central government earlier imposed a fine of Rs 100 to Rs 500 over violation of traffic rules for heavy vehicles, which has now soared to Rs 5000 to Rs 25,000 and added that the motor vehicle officials are taking advantage of it.

Association members Chenna Reddy, Sairam, Pandian and Chandrashekhar were present in the press meet.

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Bareilly (UP) (PTI): A local court here has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for murdering his mentally challenged wife by repeatedly electrocuting her while she was tied to a cot, lawyers said on Thursday.

Additional district government counsel Harendra Singh Rathore said Additional Sessions Judge Avinash Kumar Singh on Wednesday convicted Vinod Kumar (45) for killing his wife, Satyavati, in Chaina village of Bareilly district and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on him.

According to the prosecution, he was allegedly frustrated with his wife Satyavati's mental illness and often assaulted her.

Rathore said the prosecution examined nine witnesses to establish the charges against him.

As per court records, on the night of May 1-2, 2022, when Satyavati was asleep, Vinod tied her hands and legs to a cot using ropes and then connected an aluminium cable to an electric board to repeatedly administer electric shocks to her.

"She writhed in pain, but the accused continued to electrocute her until she died," the prosecution said.

The court observed that the murder was carried out in an inhuman manner.

After committing the crime, the accused threw the rope and cable on the roof and left for work at a brick kiln around 2 am to create a false alibi.

He later tried to mislead the police and the victim's family by claiming that Satyavati, whose mental condition was unstable, had accidentally died by suicide after grabbing a live electric wire.

However, the victim's brother, Sanjeev, a resident of Shahjahanpur district, suspected foul play and lodged an FIR under sections 498A (husband subjecting wife to cruelty) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code at Nawabganj police station.

During the trial, the prosecution relied on the post-mortem report prepared by Dr Faraz Anwar, who stated that multiple electrocution marks found on different parts of the victim's body could not have been self-inflicted.

The police also recovered the rope and electric wire used in the crime on the accused's identification, officials said.