After BJP leader, now two cops arrested in Kota double murder case
Udupi: Superintendent of Police, Udupi District, Laxman Nimbargi, on Sunday suspended two assistant police constables who were later arrested for allegedly helping the accused of Kota double murder case, in escaping.
The suspended police personnel have been identified as Pawan Ameen and Veerendra Acharaya, both of them have said to have helped the main accused of the case Harish Reddy, by arranging car, money and cell phone for absconding after the incident.
Both the accused were posted in the Udupi District Armed Reserve Police, (DAR)
After their suspension, both the constables were arrested by the police and were later presented before the magistrate late night on Sunday at his residence, who remanded them in judicial custody.
On January 26, this year, Bharat (30) and Yathish (25) were murdered after a verbal argument over the construction of leach pit.
Pawan Ameen and Virendra Acharya had connections with the murders accused, rowdy-sheeters Harish Reddy, Rajeshhekar Reddy, Mahesh Ganiga and Kanda Kunder. After the murder, on January 26, Pawan Ameen had provided a safe hideout at his residence in Hebri's Kuchoor. The next morning, Harish Reddy had asked Pawan Ameen to provide some equipmentsm including mobile phones and SIM cards. Accordingly, Pawan Ameen had sent the items by Pranab Bhat.
On February 7, the police department made the breakthrough arrest of prime accused Rajshekhar Reddy and Medical Ravi from Madikeri, which led to revelation of a pit of information relating to the case, which led to more arrests, brother of Rajshekhar Reddy, Harish Reddy was also arrested on Thursday morning along with Mahesh Ganiga and Ravichandra Poojary.
BJP ZP member Raghavendra Kanchan, was on Thursday arrested after his role in the murder was suspected, based on the phone calls made to him by the accused before and after the murder. All six were presented before Kundapur court, and were remanded eight days judicial custody till Feb 15.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
