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.

Get all the latest, breaking news from Karnataka in a single click. CLICK HERE to get all the latest news from Karnataka.

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.



London, Aug 5 (PTI): An Indian-origin taxi driver based in Ireland for over 23 years has become the latest to be targeted in an unprovoked attack in the capital Dublin, with local police (Gardai) launching an investigation into the violent assault.

Lakhvir Singh, in his 40s, told local media that he picked up two young men in their 20s on Friday night and dropped them at Poppintree, in the Ballymun suburb of Dublin.

Upon arriving at the destination, the men are said to have opened the vehicle door and struck him twice on the head with a bottle. As the suspects fled, they reportedly shouted: "Go back to your own country".

"In 10 years I've never seen anything like this happen," Singh told ‘Dublin Live’.

"I'm really scared now and I'm off the road at the moment. It will be very hard to go back. My children are really scared," he said.

A Dublin police spokesperson said Singh was taken to the city's Beaumont Hospital with injuries determined as not life-threatening.

"Gardaí are investigating an assault reported to have occurred in Poppintree, Ballymun, Dublin 11 at approximately 11:45 pm on Friday, 1st August 2025. A man, aged in his 40s, was brought to Beaumont Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injury. Investigations are ongoing," the spokesperson said.

The incident followed an Indian Embassy advisory, also issued on Friday, expressing safety concerns following recent attacks in and around the capital Dublin and urging Indian citizens to take safety precautions.

"There has been an increase in the instances of physical attacks reported against Indian citizens in Ireland recently,” states the advisory.

“The embassy is in touch with the authorities concerned in Ireland in this regard. At the same time, all Indian citizens in Ireland are advised to take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas, especially at odd hours," the statement reads, adding emergency embassy contact details as 0899423734 and cons.dublin@mea.gov.in.

It came in the wake of a brutal attack on a 40-year-old Indian man at Parkhill Road in the Tallaght suburb of Dublin on July 19, described as “mindless, racist violence” by locals.

The Gardai had opened an investigation into the case and Indian Ambassador to Ireland Akhilesh Mishra was among those who took to social media to express shock over the attack.

“Regarding the recent incident of physical attack on an Indian national that happened in Tallaght, Dublin, the embassy is in touch with the victim and his family. All the requisite assistance is being offered. The embassy is also in touch with the relevant Irish authorities in this regard,” the embassy said in a social media post days after the incident.

A Stand Against Racism protest was also held by the local community in condemnation of what was described as a "vicious racist attack" and to express solidarity with migrants.

Last week, Dr Santosh Yadav took to LinkedIn to post details of a “brutal, unprovoked racist attack”.

The entrepreneur and AI expert stressed that it was not an isolated incident and called for “concrete measures” from the governments of Ireland and India to ensure Indians feel safe to walk the streets of Dublin.

His post revealed that a group of six teenagers attacked him from behind as he walked to his apartment in Dublin.

“This is not an isolated incident. Racist attacks on Indian men and other minorities are surging across Dublin — on buses, in housing estates, and on public streets. Yet, the government is silent. There is no action being taken against these perpetrators. They run free and are emboldened to attack again,” reads Yadav's post.

Fine Gael party Councillor for Tallaght South, Baby Pereppadan, was among those who expressed concern following last month’s attack.

“People need to understand that many Indian people moving to Ireland are here on work permits, to study and work in the healthcare sector or in IT and so on, providing critical skills,” he said.