Hunsur: Seven held for extorting money in name of cow protection; Two cars seized
Hunsur: In a shocking case of extortion under the guise of cow protection, Hunsur Rural Police have arrested seven individuals, including a woman, for allegedly stopping vehicles transporting cattle and demanding money. The incident took place near Kattemalalavadi village in Hunsur taluk.
Those arrested include Ramakrishna, who claims to be the national president of the Hindurashtra Rakshana Vedike and a resident of Uttarahalli in Bengaluru, along with Shivakumar, Lingaraju, Kishore, Premkumar, Pushpalatha (the only woman in the group), and Swami from Maragoudanahalli in KR Pete taluk. Police have also seized two cars used in the crime.
According to the complaint filed by Kiran, a cattle trader from Ratnapuri, the incident occurred on Wednesday when he was transporting three cattle purchased from the Chunchanakatte fair in Saligrama taluk. Near Kattemalalavadi, the accused allegedly followed his vehicle in cars, stopped him midway, and accused him of transporting cattle to a slaughterhouse. Despite Kiran’s explanation that the animals were for agricultural purposes, they reportedly demanded ₹25,000, threatening to inform the police. Eventually, they said they would let him go if he paid ₹20,000, according to the complaint.
As the situation escalated, passersby gathered at the spot and confronted the accused. They later called the police emergency number 112. The Hunsur Rural Police rushed to the scene, took the accused into custody, and during questioning, the truth came to light.
Based on Kiran's complaint, a case has been registered.
Further investigation revealed that the same gang had earlier extorted ₹20,000 from a gas agency owner in KR Nagar, and similar cases were reported two years ago in Chamarajanagar and recently in Bengaluru. Fresh cases have now been registered in Hunsur and KR Nagar police stations.
Police added that the group had used their car with Hindurashtra Rakshana Vedike name boards and JK 24/7 Kannada News Channel stickers to pose as activists and media personnel, misleading people and carrying out systematic extortion.
Additional SP Malik visited the location and led the inquiry, accompanied by DySP Gopalakrishna and Inspector Muniyappa.
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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
