55-year-old woman shot dead by son in UP
Badaun (UP), Dec 25: A 55 year-old woman has been shot dead by her son after a heated argument in the Nai Basti locality under the Islamnagar police station area here, police said Tuesday.
The incident occurred Monday night following an argument between accused Iqbal and his parents after he found out that his sister had been married off without informing him or his three siblings, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Surendra Pratap Singh said.
The accused lives in Delhi and was visiting his family, he said.
As heated exchanges continued, Iqbal told his sister to divorce her husband and beat her up when she refused, the SP said.
In a fit of rage, the accused took out a country-made pistol and fired at his sister but it hit Noorjahan, his mother, who had rushed to intervene, Singh said.
The victim died on the spot, he said, adding that
police were searching for Iqbal.
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Karnataka new excise policy: Local liquor to get costlier, premium may get cheaper
Bengaluru: The state government on Monday rolled out a new excise policy that shifts from the decades-old bulk litre-based system to a model based on alcohol content in beverages, Deccan Herald reported.
Karnataka becomes the first state in India to adopt this model. The change is expected to make lower-priced liquor costlier, while some premium brands may see a reduction in prices.
A senior Excise Department official said: “The policy is being implemented from today (May 11). The Karnataka Excise (Excise Duty and Charges) (2nd Amendment) Rules, 2026, notified after a public consultation on a draft released on April 18, slashes the number of excise slabs from 16 to 8.”
Local liquor manufacturers have alleged that the policy favours multinational companies producing beer and spirits over domestic distilleries.
According to the Karnataka Brewers and Distillers Association (KBDA), the first five slabs, which cater to the common man, house the maximum number of state-owned distilleries and contribute nearly 70-75% of the state’s excise revenue, have seen their Additional Excise Duty (AED) rise by 20-30%.
In contrast, slabs 6 to 8, which include products from multinational companies such as United Spirits, Bacardi, Heineken, Carlsberg, and Anheuser-Busch, have seen AED reduced by 10-15%. The association said that while larger companies can absorb pricing shifts across their diverse portfolios, smaller regional distilleries limited to budget liquor may face volume contraction and potential closure.
A senior KBDA member said the price of a 180 ml bottle in the lowest slab, which was around Rs 63 last year, has already risen to Rs 80, and the new policy is set to push that price further to Rs 105 a jump driven by a 42.8% tax bracket.
