Belagavi: The City Police swiftly apprehended a 40-year-old man, identified as Gajanana Patil, within 12 hours of receiving a complaint from a couple regarding an attempted kidnapping of their daughter.

The incident occurred on Tuesday evening when the girl, a 9th grade student, was on her way to attend tuition classes. Patil allegedly approached her, lifted her in an attempt to abduct her, but quickly abandoned the act when the girl screamed in protest. He then fled the scene.

The entire incident was captured on a nearby CCTV camera, which prompted the girl's concerned parents to file a complaint with the Tilakwadi Police officials. The authorities wasted no time in launching an investigation and successfully apprehended the suspect, who resides in Maruthi Nagar in Belagavi.

The arrested man, Gajanana Patil, is currently being questioned by the police in relation to the incident. Further details and developments in the case are awaited as the investigation progresses.

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Bengaluru (PTI): At least 43.75 per cent of voters in Karnataka's Bagalkot, where polling for a by-election is underway, exercised their franchise by 1 pm on Thursday.

Davanagere South recorded a turnout of 37.17 per cent, the Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office said.

The bypolls were necessitated due to the demise of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti (Bagalkot) and Shamanur Shivashankarappa (Davanagere South).

While the ruling Congress faces the challenge of retaining both seats, the BJP is aiming to wrest them and deliver a setback to its rival, which is currently witnessing an "internal power struggle" over leadership.

A total of over 2.59 lakh eligible voters are expected to cast their votes at around 319 polling stations in Bagalkot, where nine candidates are in the fray.

In Davanagere South, over 2.31 lakh eligible voters are expected to vote across 284 polling stations, with 25 candidates contesting.

The BJP has fielded former MLA and 2023 defeated candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot, and a fresh face, Srinivas T Dasakariyappa, from Davanagere South.

The Congress has given tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. Bagalkot candidate Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, while Samarth Mallikarjun from Davanagere South is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.

Samarth's father, S S Mallikarjun, is a minister in the Siddaramaiah-led Cabinet and in charge of Davanagere district, while his mother, Prabha Mallikarjun, is a Member of Parliament from the region.

The BJP is looking to make gains in the bypolls and energise its cadre ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections. For the Congress, retaining both seats is crucial, as a loss could be seen as a negative verdict on the performance of the Siddaramaiah-led government.

In the 2023 Assembly elections, H Y Meti defeated BJP's Charantimath by a margin of 5,878 votes in Bagalkot, while Shivashankarappa defeated BJP's B G Ajay Kumar by 27,888 votes in Davanagere South.