Kota double murder case: Two including Reddy brother arrested
Udupi, Feb 14: With the arrest of two more accused including main accused Chandrashekar Reddy (48), the total number of accused arrested in the double murder case of Chikkanakere of Kota Manur village has increased to 15.
Police arrested Chandrashekar Reddy of Manur Chikkanakere who was the main accused in the case, on February 14 and another accused Rathish M Karkera (34) of Brahmagiri was arrested on February 12 near Udupi City hospital, said SP Laxman Nimbargi.
Chandrashekar Reddy was working as a driver and he is the elder brother among Reddy brothers. Already, other main accused and his brothers Rajashekar Reddy (44) and Harish Reddy (40) were arrested. Rathish Karkera who helped the main accused to abscond after the murder. Police have already produced him before the court which handed him over to the judicial custody, he said.
Police have so far arrested Rajashekar Reddy, Medical Ravi, ZP BJP Member Raghavendra Kanchan, Harish Reddy, Mahesh Ganiga, Ravichandra Poojary, police staff Pavan Amin and Veerendra Acharya, Abhishek Palan, Santosh Kunder, Rotti Nagaraj, Student Pranav Rao and Shankar Mogaveera in related to double murder case of Bharat Kumar and Yathish in a toilet pit dispute at Chikkanakere in Manur village on January 26. The police have registered case under IPC column 143, 147, 148, 447, 120 (b), 323, 307, 302, 112, 201, 212 and 149.
All accused to produced to court tomorrow
All arrested accused in the case would be produced before the Kundapura Additional JMFC Court with tight police security on February 15.
As the police custody of Rajashekar Reddy, Medical Ravi, Raghavendra Kanchan, Harish Reddy, Mahesh Ganiga, Ravichandra Poojary, and judicial custody of Pavan Amin, Veerendra Acharya, Abhishek Palan, Santosh Kunder, Rotti Nagaraj, Pranav Rao and Shankar Mogaveera and Rathish Karkera would end on February 15, the police would produce all of them before the court. Sources said that the court may hand over them to the judicial custody.
Chandrashekar Reddy who was arrested today would also be produced before the court tomorrow. Police sources said that whether to take Chandrashekar Reddy to police custody or hand over to judicial custody has to be decided.
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India proposes preferential trade agreement with Mexico to deal with high tariffs
New Delhi (PTI): India has proposed a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Mexico to help domestic exporters deal with the steep tariffs announced by the South American country, a top government official said on Monday.
Mexico has decided to impose steep import tariffs - ranging from about 5 per cent to as high as 50 per cent on a wide range of goods (about 1,463 tariff lines) from countries that do not have free trade agreements with Mexico, including India, China, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said that India has engaged with the country on the issue.
"Technical level talks are on...The only fast way forward is to try to get a preferential trade agreement (PTA) because an FTA (free trade agreement) will take a lot of time. So we are trying to see what can be a good way forward," he told reporters here.
While in an FTA two trading partners either significantly reduce or eliminate import duties on maximum number of goods traded between them, in a PTA, duties are cut or removed on a limited number of products.
Trading partners of Mexico cannot file a compliant against the decision on imposing high tariffs as they are WTO (World Trade Organisation) compatible.
The duties are within their bound rates, he said, adding that their primary target was not India.
"We have proposed a PTA because its a WTO-compatible way forward... we can do a PTA and try to get concessions that are required for Indian supply chains and similarly offer them concessions where they have export interests in India," Agrawal said.
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Citing support for local production and correction of trade imbalances, Mexico has approved an increase in MFN (most favoured nation) import tariffs (5-50 per cent) with effect from January 1, 2026 on 1,455 tariff lines (or product categories) within the WTO framework, targeting non-FTA partners.
Preliminary estimates suggest that this affects India's around USD 2 billion exports to Mexico particularly -- automobile, two-wheelers, auto parts, textiles, iron and steel, plastics, leather and footwear.
The measure is also aimed at curbing Chinese imports.
India-Mexico merchandise trade totalled USD 8.74 billion in 2024, with exports USD 5.73 billion, imports USD 3.01 billion, and a trade surplus of USD 2.72 billion.
The government has been continuously and comprehensively assessing Mexico's tariff revisions since the issue emerged, engaging stakeholders, safeguarding the interests of Indian exporters, and pursuing constructive dialogue to ensure a stable trade environment benefiting businesses and consumers in both countries.
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Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai has said that Mexico's decision is a matter of concern, particularly for sectors like automobiles and auto components, machinery, electrical and electronics, organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and plastics.
"Such steep duties will erode our competitiveness and risk, disrupting supply chains that have taken years to develop," Sahai said, adding that this development also underlines the little urgency for India and Mexico to fast-track a comprehensive trade agreement.
Domestic auto component manufacturers will face enhanced cost pressures with Mexico hiking duties on Indian imports, according to industry body ACMA.
