Bantwal: I am ready to contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections if high command permits, says former minister B. Ramanath Rai.

Addressing a press conference at the party office on BC Road today, he said, "I am a loyalist to the party and committed to the High Command’s decision. The party is preparing for the parliamentary elections, will contest if it gives the ticket.

The Congress government led by Siddaramaiah had approved all the projects I had taken for Bantwal. Work would begin soon after completing the tender process," he said. Administrative sanction has already been given for the second stage underground drainage work with the estimated cost of Rs. 56 lakh. Now, only minor works are pending.

“Ramanatha Rai has never neglected works. I have worked for all people in the Bantwal assembly constituency. But a smear campaign against me has not ended yet,” he alleged.

Illegal sand mining is continuing from past 15 years at the Mullarapatna Bridge area. Now the bridge is collapsed. The illegal sand mining was in place during the BJP government. Everyone knows who is behind the illegal mining," Ramanath Rai asserted.

Party leaders BH Khader, Abbas Ali and others were present at the press conference.

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Mangaluru: Mangaluru police have arrested a 50-year-old man from Kozhikode, Kerala, in connection with the murder of a 39-year-old man near Panambur Beach in Mangaluru. The accused, identified as Dharmaraj Suvarna, a resident of Thotabengre in Mangaluru, was arrested on Thursday night by a team of officers from the Panambur Police Station.

The victim, Muttu Basavaraj Vaddar, also known as Mudukappa, hailed from Amingada in Bagalkot. He had reportedly been on friendly terms with Suvarna. According to the police, the incident that led to the murder began over a dispute involving a mobile phone. Suvarna had recently purchased a new phone, which was borrowed by Mudukappa. Mudukappa allegedly damaged the device and did not return it, leading to escalating tensions between the two men.

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On Sunday, the disagreement culminated in a violent altercation, during which Suvarna allegedly struck Mudukappa with a wooden log, resulting in his death. Mudukappa's body was later discovered near the shore at Thotabengre estuary, raising concerns among local residents.

Following the discovery of the body, the Panambur Police registered a case and launched an investigation. Acting on credible information about Suvarna's whereabouts, the police team tracked him to Chombala in Kozhikode. The operation, carried out within the Chombala Police Station limits, led to Suvarna's arrest late at night.

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