Police launch cybercrime prevention training for constables in Vijayawada

The suspended personnel include a sub-inspector, an assistant sub-inspector, and four constables who had been deployed for bandobast duty during the Prime Minister’s visit to Bengaluru on May 10. | The suspension orders were issued by Superintendent of Police, Bengaluru South, Srinivas Gowda in connection with the recovery of an explosive-filled box near Vaderahalli Gate in Bengaluru South taluk.According to the police sources, the explosives were detected close to the route leading to the Art of Living Foundation Ashram, where the Prime Minister was scheduled to attend a programme.The suspended personnel include a sub-inspector, an assistant sub-inspector, and four constables who had been deployed for bandobast duty during the Prime Minister’s visit. Officials said the personnel were responsible for security in the area where the suspicious box was found and were suspended over alleged negligence and lack of alertness.The police said the suspicious box was noticed by a constable around 9 a.m., nearly two hours before the Prime Minister’s arrival. The bomb disposal squad was immediately alerted and rushed to the spot.Upon examination, the box was found to contain explosive materials. The explosives were safely secured, following which security agencies carried out an intensive re-check of the entire route before allowing the Prime Minister’s convoy to proceed.Meanwhile, the police are still groping in the dark as to how the explosives ended up along the PM convoy route. Published - May 24, 2026 07:24 pm IST

Kurnool SP Vikrant Patil. File | Photo: Special Arrangement Kurnool district police are using CCTV cameras that scan and identify faces to trace missing persons, track criminals and recover stolen vehicles, Superintendent of Police Vikrant Patil has said.Mr. Patil said about 15,000 analytics cameras had been installed across the State under the Andhra Pradesh FiberNet services, of which about 722 Matrix Smart Technology CCTV cameras were in Kurnool district.— Kurnool Police (@PoliceKurnool) May 24, 2026The cameras have facial recognition systems (FRS), automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and other analytic features. They are monitored from the Real Time Governance Society (RTGS) control room in Amaravati through the CCTNS AP 360 app, and are linked to all district control rooms and police stations.“In a recent case of a missing person registered at the Kurnool Taluka police station, the missing individual was successfully located in Madanapalle. Similarly, in another case registered at the Peddakaduburu police station, the victim was located in Tirupati,” the SP said, adding that the missing persons were traced and handed over to their families.The FRS cameras scan faces and identify people by matching them against photographs stored in the police database.The Kurnool Police Command Control Room also gets immediate alerts from the cameras on the suspicious movements of property offenders, fugitives in criminal cases and people with a criminal record.The cameras have been installed at key locations such as bus stands, railway stations, major government offices, hospitals, temples, mosques, stadiums, market yards, shopping complexes and traffic junctions.The SP asked the public to file a complaint at the nearest police station immediately if a family member or vehicle went missing. Every complaint would be treated on priority and acted on at once, he said. Published - May 24, 2026 02:49 pm IST

Doctors and the medical staff at Kodagu Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) in Madikeri, where the organs of a brain dead accident victim were successfully retrieved for donation. | In a procedure described as a significant milestone in the medical history of Kodagu district, the kidneys, heart valves and corneas were successfully retrieved from a 46-year-old accident victim after he was declared brainstem dead. Accident victim Dalu, 46, whose organs were retrieved at KIMS in Madikeri for donation. | Despite treatment and after 48 hours of observation, a medical board conducted an examination and confirmed the brainstem death of the patient.“At this critical moment, Dalu’s wife Rajeshwari and other family members took a deeply humanitarian decision and consented to organ donation,” the statement said.As KIMS, Madikeri had already received recognition from State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO and National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), the case was reported to SOTTO and the organ retrieval process was taken up.The operation was conducted under the leadership of Dean and Director of KIMS Dr. Lokesh A.J., Hospital Superintendent Dr. Somashekhar, and District Surgeon Dr. Nanjundayya. ICU specialist Dr. Nisheed Joseph and Nursing Officer Pavan maintained the donor’s physiological stability.“The surgery commenced at 2 a.m., during which both kidneys, heart valves, and corneas were successfully retrieved. Urosurgeons Dr. Sachin Dharwadkar and Dr. Vijaykumar, who arrived from Mysuru, carried out the kidney retrieval. Dr. Abhinandan and Dr. Chandrashekhar retrieved the heart valves, while Dr. Shruti and her team retrieved the corneas,” said the statement.The transportation of the organs to the hospital for transplantation to the recipients was arranged by Deputy Commissioner S. J. Somashekar and Superintendent of Kodagu district police Bindu Rani R. N.Later, Dalu’s mortal remains were handed over to the family through a ceremonial “Walk of Honour.” Doctors, hospital staff, and the nursing team paid tribute to the donor’s service to humanity, and the family was honoured for their noble decision. “At a time when the need for organs is rising rapidly in India, the decision taken by Dalu’s family has given new hope to many lives,” said Dr. Lokesh.According to a statement here, India recorded around 18,900 organ transplant surgeries in 2024 - the highest-ever in the country’s history - giving India the third position in the world for highest number of organ transplants after the United States and China.However, the number of deceased donors was only around 1,100. While more than 63,000 people in the country are waiting for kidney transplants, nearly 22,000 require liver transplants, the statement said.Although India witnesses around 1.6 lakh road accident deaths every year, most organs are never donated. The primary reasons are that families have never discussed the subject and there remains limited awareness about “brain death”, the statement said while pointing out that “a single donor can save or transform the lives of up to eight people”.Persons interested in organ donation can register online. “Organ donation registration can be completed within minutes using Aadhaar on the NOTTO website. Registration is also possible through Jeevasarthakathe (SOTTO-Karnataka),” the statement said while adding that information can also be obtained through NOTTO helpline: 1800-11-4770. Published - May 23, 2026 08:57 pm IST

Officials are believed to have found 65 tipper trucks, 18 excavators, 14 mechanised boats, six tractors and one heavy construction machine engaged in illegal sand mining. | According to officials, the action followed complaints regarding rampant illegal mining activities in Bagalkot district. A detailed report was submitted by the Superintendent of Police of the Karnataka Lokayukta, Bagalkot unit, after discreet inquiries into alleged irregularities in sand extraction operations across Hunagund, Ilkal, Mudhol and Badami taluks.The inquiry reportedly revealed indiscriminate and illegal excavation in the Krishna river bed using heavy machinery in violation of environmental norms and mining regulations. Following this report, Lokayukta Police were authorised to carry out surprise inspections and initiate action against officials suspected of negligence or collusion.Acting on these directions, the Superintendent of Police of the Lokayukta, along with officers from neighbouring districts, simultaneously raided 24 locations covering 36 points across Bagalkot district on May 21 morning. The operation involved 28 officers and 90 personnel.During the inspections, officials allegedly found 65 tipper trucks, 18 excavators, 14 mechanised boats, six tractors and one heavy construction machine engaged in illegal sand mining.Investigators found large quantities of illegally extracted sand stored at several locations. Prima facie evidence of widespread irregularities was identified, officials said.The Lokayukta has directed officials from the Mines and Geology, Revenue, Forest and Environment departments, along with the RTO, taluk panchayat executive officers and jurisdictional police officers, to initiate legal action against those involved in the illegal mining operations.Officials said further investigation is underway, and action will be taken against the erring officials found responsible for permitting or failing to curb the illegal activities. Published - May 21, 2026 03:26 pm IST

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (May 19, 2026) decided to examine a petition alleging that the State of Uttar Pradesh weaponised its police machinery to infiltrate and crush a legitimate labour agitation in Noida. | A Bench headed by Justice B.V. Nagarathna issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government, the State Police, and the Union government for their response on a petition filed by Shakambhari, whose 60-year-old activist husband, Satyam Verma, was arraigned in three different First Information Reports (FIRs), and slapped with the National Security Act (NSA) to frustrate his chances of getting bail.“The State has weaponised its police machinery to arbitrarily crush a legitimate labour agitation in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, shielding corporate entities from liability for rampant wage theft, and maliciously criminalising the working class and civil society members through dragnet criminal proceedings,” advocates Shahrukh Alam and Paras Nath Singh submitted.The petition said its cause in court was not just about the illegal arrest of Mr. Verma, but a “concerted deployment of arbitrary, dragnet and fabricated criminal proceedings to silence the labour class and its democratic allies”.The previous hearing had witnessed the court remark that agitating workers should not be treated as “terrorists” by the State, and the government had a constitutional obligation to ensure a “living wage” to workers. Two protestors whisked away by the police were produced in court on May 19. Their families had moved the apex court seeking their whereabouts. The court directed their continuation in judicial custody. Rather than fulfilling its role as a welfare state, the petition said the State had used its police officers to covertly become part of WhatsApp groups of the protestors.The petition alleged there was “incontrovertible evidence” showing that “State police personnel acted as agent provocateurs to incite the very violence they are now prosecuting”. The entire prosecution was vitiated when the investigating agency itself acted as the “architect of the unrest”, the petition said. The court should have an enquiry headed by a retired or sitting judge into the role of the Uttar Pradesh Police, it said.The plea said the protests, spanning April 10–13, were a spontaneous and peaceful demand by factory workers for a statutory minimum wage hike (sparked by a recent 21% increase in neighbouring Haryana), and an end to 12-hour shifts for a mere ₹11,000 per month.“Extracting labour below the minimum wage constitutes forced labour under Article 23, as held by the Supreme Court. Instead of mediating the dispute effectively to bring real changes or prosecuting the employers for statutory violations, the State unleashed severe police brutality and criminalised the workers’ fundamental right to collective bargaining,” the petition, drawn by advocates Deeksha Dwivedi and Krithika D., said.It said the State has also deliberately fragmented a single, continuous labour protest into 14 separate FIRs even though the allegations, geographical locations, and sequence of events across these FIRs were identical.“This strategic multiplication subjects citizens to an endless cycle of arrests and remands,” the petition argued.It said the FIRs should be probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation or a Special Investigation Team. The court listed the case next on July 21. Published - May 19, 2026 07:12 pm IST

A woman from Madhya Pradesh, who went viral during the Kumbh Mela last year, and her actor husband, Farman Khan, have approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court alleging that her father and others forged documents to portray her as a minor after she married a man of another faith in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram. Seeking an urgent hearing, the couple also accused the Madhya Pradesh Police of intimidation and harassment during visits to Kerala as part of an investigation into a case filed against Mr. Khan, a native of Baghpat district in Uttar Pradesh.The woman, a resident of Khargone, went viral on social media while selling garlands and rudraksha beads at the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad in early 2025. She later went on to work as an actor. But a controversy erupted after she started dating and eventually married Mr. Khan in March, 2026, with her family alleging that she was only 16 years old and that Mr. Khan had “trapped her in love jihad”.Based on a complaint filed by her father and a probe by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST), an FIR was registered against Mr. Khan in Khargone’s Maheshwar under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, as the woman hails from the Pardhi tribal community. The NCST probe claimed that she was 17 years old, as per her birth records obtained from a government hospital in Maheshwar. Mr. Khan is currently on anticipatory bail from the Kerala High Court. In the joint petition, the couple claimed that the woman was born on January 1, 2008, as shown in a birth certificate issued by the Maheshwar Nagar Panchayat, and was, therefore, an adult at the time of her marriage. The petition alleged that the FIR against Mr. Khan was part of a “criminal conspiracy and communal incitement”, based on “forged government documents”. “Her father, in collusion with his co-conspirators, set into motion a calculated and malicious design to portray the girl as a minor and to criminalise the lawful marriage between two consenting adults. In furtherance of the said conspiracy, the birth records were manipulated by wrongful substitution of entries, and the date of birth of the girl was falsely altered to January 1, 2009,” the plea said, while terming the FIR against Mr. Khan a “counterblast” to their marriage. The woman claimed that her “genuine birth certificate has been maliciously cancelled on the [M.P.] government portal without notice or authority”. The petitioners have sought restoration of the birth certificate and an independent investigation into the alleged conspiracy. The couple also said that following the FIR, the Madhya Pradesh Police officers have made repeated visits to Kerala for the probe.“The conduct of the police officials has caused grave apprehension and fear to the petitioners and persons closely associated with them. The petitioners state that the investigating officials have been making repeated inquiries, visits and interventions in a manner which has resulted in intimidation and harassment not only to the petitioners but also to persons acquainted with them,” the plea said, claiming that the couple has had to frequently move within Kerala and that it has impacted their lives and work. Invoking the right to personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution, the couple also alleged the woman’s father and various other men circulated “false and inflammatory propaganda” through media and social media, branding Mr. Khan as a “terrorist”, and attempted to communalise a lawful marriage between two adults by using the malicious and provocative rhetoric of “love jihad”. Earlier, the woman had filed a case in Kerala’s Ernakulam against her father and others on similar allegations. Published - May 19, 2026 11:49 pm IST