YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, actor Prakash Raj, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and spokesperson Saurav Das seen at the ‘People’s Tribunal’ and protest against SIR exercise in Karnataka, at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on October 8, 2026.
| Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN
1. Abhijeet Dipke, Dhruv Rathee address ‘People’s Tribunal’ against SIR in Bengaluru
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee participated in the “People’s Tribunal” on the SIR of electoral rolls in Bengaluru’s Freedom Park on October 8, 2026. This was followed by a “chappal protest.” Mr. Dipke accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “murdering democracy and vote theft,” and said protests will go on till CEC Gyanesh Kumar resigns from his post.
Following the release of a report on the irregularities in SIR across 100 polling stations in Karnataka, Mr. Rathee said “Narendra Modi must be thinking I have a problem with him, but the entire nation has a problem with him.” He then proceeded to pose three claims and questions about the SIR exercise in West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Goa. Read our live coverage of the protest here.
2. KPSC recruitment scam: ED arrests suspended chairperson, member; ₹20–40 lakh bribe for leaked answer keys
The Enforcement Directorate arrested suspended Karnataka Public Service Commission Chairperson Shivashankarappa Sahukar and KPSC member B.V. Geetha in connection with alleged manipulation of the recruitment examination for 400 Veterinary Officer posts, including the leakage of candidate-specific answer keys and exploitation of confidential merit-list data to collect bribes.
The duo were arrested on October 6 after the ED searched their premises under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). They were produced in the Special Court for PMLA cases (CCH-4) on October 7, which granted the ED 14 days’ custody of both accused.
According to the ED, its investigation has uncovered an organised mechanism through which KPSC officials and members allegedly generated proceeds of crime by manipulating recruitment examinations. The alleged modus operandi included leakage of question papers, leakage of candidate-specific answer keys, and misuse of the confidential 1:3 merit list to demand money from candidates.
3. FIR against MLA for creating false death certificates of voters in Vijayapura
Vijayapura police have registered an FIR against MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal on the charge of creating false death certificates of voters in a bid to exclude them from the voting list in Vijayapura constituency. Mr. Yatnal was expelled by the BJP in March 2025. Officers of the Jala Nagar police station registered an FIR based on a complaint by Abdul Razak Bagwan, a vegetable vendor.
Mr. Bagwan has alleged that Mr. Yatnal, MLA and the Booth level agent of Vijayapura Assembly constituency, had falsely claimed that he had died, and that his name needs to be struck off the electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. Mr. Yatnal had managed to obtain a false death certificate through unfair means, the complainant alleged.
4. ISRO employees seek meeting with Chairperson to discuss queries on privatisation
The Joint Action Council (JAC), representing nine Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) employees’ associations, have sought a meeting with the Chairperson of the space agency, Dr. V. Narayanan, to discuss key issues, like emerging threats of privatisation, transfer of technology, and operational functions of launch vehicles and facilities.
In a letter dated October 7, the nine associations requested an early structured personal interaction or meeting to seek clarification on other pressing employee issues, including inordinate stagnation after Cadre Review, recruitment and attrition, concentration of functional positions, vigilance clearance relating to Performance Related Incentive Scheme, and restoration of Joint Consultative Mechanisms.
5. ICAR-CPCRI, Coconut Development Board launch innovative tree-top Coconut Sap Concentrator, cutting sugar production cost by 53.4%
In a significant technological advancement for the coconut sector, the ICAR–Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (ICAR-CPCRI), Kasaragod, Keralam, has developed an innovative Coconut Sap Concentrator for hygienic collection and thermal pre-concentration of coconut sap directly at the tree top. It was launched by Deepa Nair, CEO of Coconut Development Board.
The pilot-scale electrical sap concentrator was developed with financial support from the CDB, Kochi. The technology has jointly been patented by ICAR-CPCRI and the CDB under the title ‘A Portable Electric Palm Top Concentrator’ (Patent No. 591074), the Director of ICAR- CPCRI K. Balachandra Hebbar told The Hindu.
Published – October 08, 2026 06:38 pm IST
