Deputy Commissioner of Police suspended over Anjali murder case in Karnataka
Hubballi (Karnataka), May 19: The Deputy Commissioner of Police of Hubballi-Dharwad M Rajeev has been suspended in connection with the Anjali Ambigera murder case, top police sources said on Sunday.
Anjali (20) was stabbed to death allegedly by her neighbour Girish Sawant (23) for declining his love proposal on May 15.
This incident came close on the heels of the Neha Hiremath murder case. Neha (23) was stabbed to death by her former classmate Fayaz Khodunaik on her college campus in Hubballi on April 18.
Rajeev was the DCP of Law and Order of Hubballi-Dharwad city.
A week before the murder, Anjali's mother had complained to the police against Girish alleging that he was pestering her, but no action was taken.
Cracking the whip, the Commissioner of Police of Hubballi-Dharwad suspended the DCP.
Following the tense atmosphere prevailing in the city over the incident, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) R Hitendra today met the family members of Neha Hiremath and Anjali Ambigere.
He also held a meeting with the senior police officials of Hubballi-Dharwad and gave them the necessary directions.
Later, speaking to reporters, he said in the last 15 days, two young women have been murdered, which created an atmosphere of fear among people. In this background, he visited the city.
A decision will be taken by Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara with regard to the Anjali murder case, the ADGP said, and added that more action will follow in the coming days.
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Karnataka makes teenage pregnancies audit mandatory
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government on Tuesday issued an order mandating an audit of all adolescent pregnancy cases across the state, aiming to systematically track, review and address the underlying causes of pregnancies among girls aged 10 to 18 years.
The order makes adolescent pregnancy audit mandatory by the Taluk Health Officer (THO) for all pregnancies occurring among girls aged 10 to 18 years across the state.
The move is intended to strengthen early identification, counselling and preventive interventions by integrating efforts across health, education and social welfare departments, while leveraging existing programmes such as the National Health Mission (NHM) and Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK).
“Adolescent pregnancy remains a significant public health and social concern with implications for maternal health, neonatal outcomes, and socio-economic development,” the order said.
It noted that pregnancies among girls aged 10 to 18 years are associated with increased risks of maternal complications, adverse birth outcomes, school dropout and social vulnerability.
According to the order, all adolescent pregnancies identified in the state must be compulsorily reported by both government and private healthcare institutions on the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) platform.
The audit framework will examine multiple socio-medical factors, including age at marriage, educational status, awareness of reproductive health, access to contraception, and family vulnerabilities.
It will also assess linkages with schemes such as RKSK, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and school health programmes to identify service delivery gaps.
At the Taluk level, a dedicated audit committee will be constituted under the chairmanship of the Taluk Health Officer. Its members will be drawn from primary health centres, field health staff, Anganwadi services and schools.
The government further directed that counselling services, including those through Sneha Centres, access to contraceptives, and targeted outreach to vulnerable adolescent groups—such as school dropouts, migrants and socially disadvantaged households—must be strengthened.
“The audit shall examine age at marriage, educational status, awareness on reproductive health, access to contraception and counselling services, socio-economic and family vulnerabilities,” the order said.
The order mandates strict confidentiality in handling all cases, in compliance with child protection laws, while also ensuring adherence to legal reporting requirements.
