A file photo of Shamanuru Shivashankarappa.
| Photo Credit: N. Ravichandran
1. Legislature pays rich tributes to veteran legislator and former Karnataka Minister Shamanuru Shivashankarappa
Both the Houses of the Karnataka legislature paid rich tributes to veteran legislatorand former Minister Shamanuru Shivashankarappa who died on December 14. On December 15, legislators cutting across party affiliations hailed the 94-year-old entrepreneur-turned-politician as ajaathashatru (one without enemies).
In the Assembly, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recalled that Shivashankarappa was the seniormost MLA in India. Also, he had served the Veerashaiva Lingayat Mahasabha for a long time as its president, he noted. BJP member S. Suresh Kumar hailed Shivashankarappa as a unique politician who had an amazing love for life.
2. Thin attendance in Assembly continues in Belagavi session
The issue of thin attendance continues to haunt the ongoing legislature session of the Karnataka Assembly in Belagavi for the second week. On December 15, when the Legislative Assembly was paying homage to Shamanuru Shivashankarappa, just around 50 members were present in the 224-member House. Opposition members accounted for half of this number.
The thin attendance of MLAs had become a matter of concern in the first week of the session too as the House witnessed presence of just around 100 members, of which the Opposition members accounted for half. The ruling Congress has 135 members in the Assembly, excluding the two members who passed away.
3. Retired doctor in Kalaburagi cheated of ₹1.26 crore in ‘digital arrest’ scam
A retired doctor in Kalaburagi is said to have been cheated of ₹1,26,74,047 by cyber fraudsters who threatened him with “digital arrest” after impersonating as Mumbai Crime Branch officials. The victim, Shivasharanappa Biradar, was targeted through WhatsApp calls, according to a complaint filed by his wife, Usha Biradar, at the Cyber, Economic and Narcotics Police Station.
As per the complaint, one of the fraudsters, who identified himself as Pradeep Kumar from the Mumbai Crime Branch, said that there is a Canara Bank account in Dr. Biradar’s name in Mumbai and linked it to a money laundering case involving Naresh Goyal. Under the pretext of an online investigation, they obtained copies of the doctor’s Aadhaar and PAN card and coerced him into transferring money.
4. University of Liverpool marks start of Bengaluru campus project
The University of Liverpool has begun work on its proposed Bengaluru campus with a ground-breaking ceremony held at Alembic City on December 15, 2025. The campus, which is scheduled to begin operations in 2026, will offer UK-accredited degree programmes in Computer Science, Business Management, Accounting and Finance, Biomedical Sciences and Game Design.
The University said the Bengaluru campus has been designed as an integrated teaching and research facility, with smart classrooms, specialised laboratories, research and innovation spaces, collaboration hubs and access to Bloomberg terminals. The aim, according to the institution, is to combine academic learning with industry engagement and interdisciplinary research.
Published – December 15, 2025 06:43 pm IST
