Himachal flash floods: Search operation to find missing people intensified, others rescued
_vb_76.jpeg)
Shimla (PTI): Search operations have been intensified to trace 10 people missing since the flash floods triggered by cloudbursts in Himachal's Kangra and Kullu districts, officials said on Thursday.
Two persons died while about 20 were feared swept away due to heavy rains on Wednesday evening but some of the missing people have since been rescued.
In Manuni Khad in Kangra district, around 15-20 workers stationed at a labour colony near the Indira Priyadarshini Hydroelectric project site were feared swept away following a surge in water level in Manuni Khad of Khaniyara. Two people died due to the flash flood at the site.
Three people at Rehla Bihal in Kullu district who were washed away in the deluge while trying to take away valuables from their homes are still missing.
Two teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and a team of home guards have been deployed at the spot and the National Disaster response Force (NDRF) has also been called for rescue efforts, Deputy Commissioner Hemraj Bairwa after visiting the site.
At the hydroelectric project site, six people are feared swept away by the floods while one person was seen fleeing to a nearby hill to save himself. His whereabouts are also not yet known, the DC said.
The rest have been rescued safely, he said, adding that search and rescue is the first priority.
Some of the missing people hail from Nurpur and Chamba areas of Himachal Pradesh and others from Uttar Pradesh. A dedicated team has been sent to find the man who went into the hills during the floods.
BJP national president J P Nadda expressed condolences to the bereaved families of the workers who were swept away due to sudden increase in water flow in Manuni Khad.
“In this hour of crisis, every BJP worker is dedicated to providing all possible help to the citizens of Devbhoomi. I pray to God to give peace to the departed souls and provide strength to the bereaved families”, he said in a statement issued here.
Dharamshala BJP MLA Sudhir Sharma who reached the spot on Thursday said the project site was one kilometer from his village. He said he received a call on Wednesday that the water level has surged and 15-20 people had been swept away.
Sharma said that building sheds for labourers near the drain, and not shifting them when the weather was unsafe areas was negligence and an investigation should be initiated.
The MLA also demanded adequate compensation to the family of the deceased.
According to officials, the project work had been suspended due to the rain, and the workers were resting in temporary shelters near the site when floodwaters from Manuni Khad and nearby drains diverted towards the labour colony, sweeping several of them them away.
In Kullu district, a search is underway to find three people who were swept away while trying to take away their valuables from their homes in Rehla Bihal area of Sainj.
Three cloudbursts incidents were reported from Jeeva Nallah and Rehla Bihal in Sainj and Shilagarh in Gadsa area of Kullu district.
Flash floods were also reported from Manali and Banjar in the district, and search operations were underway.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Karnataka MLA Vinay Kulkarni disqualified after conviction in Goudar murder case
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Saturday issued an official notification regarding the disqualification of Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni following his conviction in the murder case of BJP leader Yogeshgouda Goudar.
The former minister is currently in prison, serving life imprisonment in the case.
“Consequent upon the conviction of Vinay Kulkarni, Member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly representing the Dharwad constituency, by the LXXXI Additional City Civil & Sessions Judge, Bengaluru City (CCH-82), in Spl CC No. 565/2021, he stands disqualified from the membership of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from the date of conviction, i.e, April 15, 2026,” the notification read.
“He stands disqualified in terms of the provisions of Article 191(1)(e) of the Constitution of India, read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and such disqualification shall continue for a further period of six years after his release, unless the conviction is stayed by a competent court,” it added.
Hence, one seat in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly has fallen vacant, the notification said.
Bypolls were held on April 9 to fill two other seats in the 224-member Assembly that fell vacant due to the death of sitting MLAs. The results will be declared on May 4.
On April 15, Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat convicted Kulkarni and others under various IPC sections, including criminal conspiracy and murder. Subsequently, on April 17, the court sentenced Kulkarni and 15 others convicted in the case to life imprisonment.
The case pertains to the killing of Goudar, a BJP Zilla Panchayat member, in Dharwad on June 15, 2016. Kulkarni was a minister at that time. Hired assailants attacked and hacked Goudar to death in his gym at Saptapur in Dharwad.
Following demands from Goudar’s family and others, the then-BJP government transferred the case to the CBI in 2019.
The CBI filed a supplementary chargesheet in 2020, naming Vinay Kulkarni as the “main conspirator.” It alleged that he perceived Yogeshgouda Goudar as a growing political rival in Dharwad and hired contract killers to eliminate him.
Kulkarni was arrested by the CBI in 2020. He was granted bail by the Supreme Court in August 2021 under certain conditions, including a ban on entering Dharwad district. However, in June 2025, the apex court cancelled his bail following allegations of witness tampering and attempts to influence prosecution witnesses.
Kulkarni again sought bail in January 2026, but the High Court rejected it, citing judicial propriety.
However, the Supreme Court granted him bail on February 27 after noting that all witnesses had been examined.
