SWR upgrades security at Hubballi Division railway station using CCTV cameras with AI technology
Bengaluru: South Western Railway (SWR) is installing a network of 943 CCTV cameras having AI technology in 79 stations, entering into coordination with RailTel Corporation of India Limited.
According to a report by Deccan Herald, the CCTV cameras will be connected to the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the Command and Control Centre (CC Centre) in Hubballi to enhance passenger safety and also to keep vigil over the public movement in railway stations. The system helps the RPF staff in Hubballi to monitor the real time status of even smaller railway stations through the CCTV camera surveillance and alert local staff in case of any suspicious activities or safety concerns.
This is a major step of upgrade of security in the railway stations under the Hubballi Division of the SWR as only seven major stations in the Division were provided CCTV camera surveillance a few years ago. While the Hubballi Division has 123 stations, including halt stations, up to 79 stations will now be monitored through CCTV cameras.
Also, new buildings and better amenities have been provided to all important and small stations in Hubballi Division.
SWR officers have reportedly said that the camera installation work is completed, with more than half of the cameras already being connected to the CC Centre in Hubballi.
RPF Senior Divisional Security Commissioner Alok Kumar has said that smaller railway stations like Saunshi or Yalavigi too can be monitored through CCTV cameras at the CC Centre in Hubballi.
He explained that AI technology has enabled CCTV cameras that can recognize faces, count passengers, and also have colour scenes. In addition, they are equipped with video analytic facilities supporting greater efficiency in monitoring the movements of people and surveillance and security in these railway stations. The remaining railway stations will be connected with the CCTV cameras network in the next phase, he added.
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Karnataka MLA Vinay Kulkarni disqualified after conviction in Goudar murder case
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Saturday issued an official notification regarding the disqualification of Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni following his conviction in the murder case of BJP leader Yogeshgouda Goudar.
The former minister is currently in prison, serving life imprisonment in the case.
“Consequent upon the conviction of Vinay Kulkarni, Member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly representing the Dharwad constituency, by the LXXXI Additional City Civil & Sessions Judge, Bengaluru City (CCH-82), in Spl CC No. 565/2021, he stands disqualified from the membership of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from the date of conviction, i.e, April 15, 2026,” the notification read.
“He stands disqualified in terms of the provisions of Article 191(1)(e) of the Constitution of India, read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and such disqualification shall continue for a further period of six years after his release, unless the conviction is stayed by a competent court,” it added.
Hence, one seat in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly has fallen vacant, the notification said.
Bypolls were held on April 9 to fill two other seats in the 224-member Assembly that fell vacant due to the death of sitting MLAs. The results will be declared on May 4.
On April 15, Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat convicted Kulkarni and others under various IPC sections, including criminal conspiracy and murder. Subsequently, on April 17, the court sentenced Kulkarni and 15 others convicted in the case to life imprisonment.
The case pertains to the killing of Goudar, a BJP Zilla Panchayat member, in Dharwad on June 15, 2016. Kulkarni was a minister at that time. Hired assailants attacked and hacked Goudar to death in his gym at Saptapur in Dharwad.
Following demands from Goudar’s family and others, the then-BJP government transferred the case to the CBI in 2019.
The CBI filed a supplementary chargesheet in 2020, naming Vinay Kulkarni as the “main conspirator.” It alleged that he perceived Yogeshgouda Goudar as a growing political rival in Dharwad and hired contract killers to eliminate him.
Kulkarni was arrested by the CBI in 2020. He was granted bail by the Supreme Court in August 2021 under certain conditions, including a ban on entering Dharwad district. However, in June 2025, the apex court cancelled his bail following allegations of witness tampering and attempts to influence prosecution witnesses.
Kulkarni again sought bail in January 2026, but the High Court rejected it, citing judicial propriety.
However, the Supreme Court granted him bail on February 27 after noting that all witnesses had been examined.
