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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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
