Tension in Ainapur after lorry carrying suspected cow meat set ablaze, seven arrested
Belagavi: Tension gripped Ainapur town in Kagwad taluk late Monday night after local residents allegedly set fire to a lorry suspected of transporting three tonnes of cow meat. Police have arrested seven people, including those involved in transporting the meat and those accused of torching the vehicle.
According to officials, the lorry was carrying meat from Kudachi in Raibag taluk to Hyderabad. The load, concealed under slabs of ice, was intercepted in Ainapur by a group reportedly linked to Hindu organisations, who set the truck ablaze. By the time police arrived, the vehicle was reduced to ashes. The driver and cleaner were also assaulted and sustained injuries.
District Superintendent of Police (SP) Bheemashankar Guled confirmed the arrests. The alleged transporters, Vikas Ware and Sudhir Gasti of Sangli district (Maharashtra) and Saheblal Muthawale of Kudachi, were booked under the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, 2020, and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. A fourth suspect was detained in Kalaburagi and is being brought back, as reported by Deccan Herald.
Those accused of torching the lorry, Avesh Jiragale, Suhas Londe, Anil Savali, and Sadashiv Kurandavade of Ainapur were arrested after being identified in videos of the incident. An additional case under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, was registered, as the lorry driver reportedly belongs to the Dalit community.
SP Guled added that meat samples had been sent to a laboratory for confirmation. “The suspects had been purchasing the meat for about a week now,” he said.
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Hyderabad–B’luru, Chennai-B’luru among seven high-speed rail corridors announced in budget
New Delhi: India will expand its high-speed rail network with seven new corridors as part of efforts to promote faster and environmentally sustainable passenger transport, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced while presenting the Union Budget 2026 in Parliament on Sunday.
Outlining the government’s infrastructure plans, Sitharaman said the proposed high-speed rail corridors are aimed at improving connectivity between major economic and cultural centres, while also helping reduce the carbon footprint of long-distance travel.
“The government proposes to develop environmentally sustainable passenger transport systems through seven high-speed rail corridors,” the finance minister said in her Budget speech.
According to the announcement, the identified routes include Mumbai–Pune, Hyderabad–Bengaluru, Delhi–Varanasi, Varanasi–Siliguri, Pune–Hyderabad, Hyderabad–Chennai and Chennai–Bengaluru. These corridors are expected to link key metropolitan cities with fast-growing urban and industrial hubs.
