Santosh Trophy: Kerala beat Mizoram, will meet Bengal in final
Kolkata: Five-time champions Kerala edged out Mizoram 1-0 in the semi-final to book their berth in the final of the 72nd edition of the national championship for the Santosh Trophy at the Mohun Bagan Ground here on Friday.
Kerala will face 32-time winners and hosts Bengal in the summit clash on Sunday. Bengal beat Karnataka in the other semis clash.
Substitute Afdal VK netted the winner in the 54th minute thus causing an upset of sorts with Mizoram playing the better football on the day.
Kerala, riding the slender victory, reached their first final since the 2012/13 edition.
Meanwhile in the other semi-final match, Bengal moved past Karnataka 2-0. Skipper Jiten Murmu and Tirthankar Sarkar scored in the 57th and 90+2nd minute respectively for the hosts.
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Udupi: Woman, bank employee arrested in property tax fraud case
Udupi: Udupi City Police have arrested two persons, including a woman, in connection with the alleged misappropriation of property tax funds belonging to the Udupi Municipal Council.
The accused have been identified as Shalini, who was working as a tax consultant outside the municipal office, and Ganesh, a bank employee.
According to police, Anand Suvarna had paid Rs 34,730 towards 12 years of property tax for his building in Kalmadi to Shalini on October 16, 2025. She reportedly issued him a receipt acknowledging the payment.
However, when Suvarna recently checked the status of the payment on the property tax portal, he found that the amount had not been credited and was still shown as pending. He then brought the matter to the notice of the Municipal Commissioner, who verified that the payment had not been recorded.
During questioning, Shalini allegedly admitted to the lapse. On February 16, 2026, she generated a new challan in Suvarna’s name and paid Rs 35,213 towards the dues.
Police said a case has been registered at the Udupi City Police Station against the accused for allegedly misappropriating tax money and defrauding the government by affixing the seal of Union Bank on the challan without remitting the amount initially received from the taxpayer.
Further investigation is under way.
