Bengaluru, May 23: H.D. Kumaraswamy was on Wednesday sworn in as the Chief Minister of a Janata Dal-Secular-Congress coalition government in Karnataka.

Governor Vajubhai Vala administered the oath of office to Kumaraswamy, the state's 25th Chief Minister, at 4.30 p.m. on the grand steps of the state Secretariat in the presence of national and regional leaders from across the country.

Parameshwara of the Congress took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister.

Both the leaders took oath in Kannada in the name of god, farmers and the people of the southern state.

A galaxy of national and regional leaders and Chief Ministers of some non-BJP states from across the country were present on the occasion.

Among the prominent political leaders present on the huge dais were UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, BSP supremo Mayawati, Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav, expelled Janata Dal-United President Sharad Yadav and Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Sitaram Yechury.

Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), N. Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh) and Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala) were also present at the 10-minute swearing-in ceremony.

Thousands of JD-S and Congress cadres and supporters from across the state, especially the Mysuru region thronged the venue braving the rain.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.

The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.

The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.

Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.

"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.

Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.

“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.

Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.

"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.

The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.

Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.

"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.

The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.

Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.