Five arrested for assault on NSUI district leader Sharath Kunder in Udupi

Vartha Bharati | 14-02-2026 | 22:14:00 IST

Udupi: Udupi City Police have arrested five persons in connection with the assault on NSUI district leader Sharath Kunder over a minor issue.

The arrested accused have been identified as Akshath Pai (27) of Kunjibettu, Sushanth (25), Ramananda Pai (42), Santosh Koraga (38) and Shamshank Nayak (25) of Alevoor.

Police have seized the car allegedly used in the crime and two mobile phones from the accused. The arrested persons have been produced before the court.

According to the complaint, on January 30 at around 9 pm, Sharath Kunder (25), a resident of Chittadi Bailoor Badagubettu, had gone to a hotel in Manipal along with a friend for dinner. There, a verbal argument reportedly broke out between him and Akshath Pai, Shashank and the son of the owner of Radhakrishna General Store in Udupi over a trivial matter.

Later, when Sharath was returning home and reached near Kalsanka, Akshath Pai allegedly called him and asked him to stop near PPC Cross to discuss the issue related to the hotel argument. At around 11.30 pm, while Sharath was standing by the roadside near PPC Cross along with his friends Dhruva, Silan Gagan and Rohith, two vehicles reportedly arrived at the spot.

As per the complaint, Akshath Pai, Shashank and 6 to 7 others got down from the vehicles and assaulted Sharath using sword-like weapons and an iron chain.

After the assault, the accused allegedly issued death threats and fled from the scene. The injured Sharath was admitted to hospital and treated.

A case had been registered at Udupi City Police Station and further investigation is underway. 

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Voting begins for Assam''s 126 assembly seats

09-04-2026 ¦ 09-04-2026 IST

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Guwahati (PTI): Polling for all 126 Assam assembly constituencies began on Thursday to decide the electoral fate of 722 candidates, officials said.

In the high-stakes election, the ruling BJP is aiming for a third consecutive term in office, while the Congress seeks to wrest power after being ousted in 2016.

Polling, being held in a single phase, began at 7 am and will conclude at 5 pm. Long queues of voters were seen outside polling stations from early morning.

An electorate of 2.50 crore, including 1.25 crore women and 318 from the third gender, can exercise their franchise in 31,490 polling stations across the state.

Prominent candidates include Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Congress state president Gaurav Gogoi, assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary, Leader of the opposition Debabrata Saikia, AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi, and Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) chief Lurinjyoti Gogoi.

Several cabinet ministers, including the AGP’s Atul Bora and Keshav Mahanta, and the BPF’s Charan Boro are also in the fray.

The Congress has the highest of 99 contestants, followed by the BJP (90), AIUDF (30), NDA allies AGP (26) and BPF (11).

Opposition alliance’s Raijor Dal is contesting in 13, AJP in 10, CPI(M) in 3 and APHLC in 2. Outside the two coalitions, the AAP is contesting in 18 seats, UPPL in 18, TMC 22, JMM 16 and there are 258 independents.

The ruling NDA’s main constituents are the BJP, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bodo Peoples’ Front (BPF) while the opposition alliance comprises the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), CPI(M), All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) and CPI(ML).

The counting of votes is scheduled on May 4.