BBMP polls likely to be held between June-August
Bengaluru: The long-pending elections for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) are expected to take place between June and August this year and the state government is reportedly making necessary preparations for the same.
The term of the previous BBMP council ended in September 2020, but elections have not been held yet. Former Congress councillors Abdul Wajid and M. Shivaraju had approached the High Court to push for quicker elections. However, the State Election Commission (SEC) cited pending ward delimitation and reservation finalisation as reasons for the delay, as reported by The Hindu on Wednesday.
The High Court had directed elections for 198 wards in 2020, but the government later expanded this number to 243 under the BBMP Act of 2020. A Supreme Court stay allowed the BJP-led government to proceed with the new wards. After a change in government in 2023, the number of wards was revised to 225.
Later, the government introduced the Greater Bengaluru Governance (GBA) Bill, 2024, which allows for the city’s civic body to be split into multiple corporations. A committee is reviewing the Bill, with its report expected by the end of this month.
Sources in the government told the publication that MLAs across party lines are split over the polls. While some MLAs were previously against holding elections, fearing it would shift power to councillors, others now believe the council is essential for smooth governance in the city.
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy stated that the government is eager to pass the GBA Bill in the next Assembly session. “Once the Bill is passed, it will be sent to the Governor for assent. We are hopeful that the Bill will sail through. Under the GBA the BBMP will be split into multiple corporations and the elections will be held,” he was quoted as saying by The Hindu.
Reddy added that the state government is contemplating holding polls between June and August.
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Slain Australia beach shooting suspect native of Hyderabad: T'gana police
Hyderabad/Melbourne (PTI): Sajid Akram, the 50-year-old slain suspect in a mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Australia, was an Indian citizen hailing from Hyderabad, Telangana Police revealed on Tuesday.
While he had migrated to Australia 27 years ago, Akram carried an Indian passport. Akram, along with his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram, recently travelled to the Philippines on an Indian passport.
Akram, one of the two suspects in the mass shooting that has left 15 people dead and dozens injured, migrated to Australia in 1998 and had limited contact with his family here since then, the Telangana DGP's office said in a statement.
"Sajid Akram (50) is originally from Hyderabad, India. He completed his B.Com degree in Hyderabad and migrated to Australia in search of employment, approximately 27 years ago, in November 1998," it said.
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He married a European-origin woman before settling permanently in Australia. The couple have one son, Naveed (the second suspect who is in custody at a hospital in Australia) and one daughter, it said.
Naveed and Akram's daughter were born in Australia and are citizens of that country, the statement said.
On Tuesday, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett described the mass shooting as "a terrorist attack inspired by the Islamic State."
According to Australian authorities, the suspects were a father and son, aged 50 and 24. The older man, who was identified as Sajid Akram, was shot dead.
The Telangana police said Akram visited India on six occasions after migrating to Australia, primarily for family-related reasons such as property matters and to meet his elderly parents.
It is understood that he did not travel to India even at the time of his father's demise, the statement said.
The family members have further expressed no knowledge of his radical mindset or activities, nor of the circumstances that led to his radicalisation, police said.
"The factors that led to the radicalisation of Sajid Akram and his son, Naveed, appear to have no connection with India or any local influence in Telangana," Telangana police said.
Telangana Police further said it has no adverse record against Akram during his stay in India before his departure in 1998.
The state police said it remains committed to cooperating with central agencies and other counterparts, as and when required, and urged the public and media to avoid speculation or attribution without verified facts.
Quoting security sources, Australia's ABC News reported that Akram and Naveed travelled to the Philippines to receive "military-style training".
"Investigators are now examining the Akrams' ties to an international jihadist network, after discovering the pair travelled to Manila in early November," it said, quoting officials briefed on the investigation.
The Philippines Bureau of Immigration confirmed the pair arrived in the Philippines from Australia on November 1, declaring the southern city of Davao - a hotbed for Islamic militants since the 1990s - as their destination, it said.
"They left the country on November 28, 2025, on a connecting flight from Davao to Manila, with Sydney as their final destination," ABC News quoted the Philippines' Bureau of Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval as saying.
Sandoval said Akram entered the country on an Indian passport, while his son, Naveed, entered on an Australian passport.
In the Philippines, Undersecretary of the Presidential Communications Office and Press Officer for Malacanang Palace Claire Castro said that the National Security Council (NSC) is currently looking into reports that the father and son duo travelled to the country a month before the attack.
