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Karnataka Today newsletter: Hoysala patrol vehicles to respond in 7.15 minutes, and more

Taking real-time experience to the next level, B. Dayananda, Police Commissioner of Bengaluru, has directed the inspector in-charge of Hoysala operations to conduct a trial run to bring the response time down to 7 minutes. Hoysalas not only act as mobile stations, but also first responders. The city has 241 Hoysalas with two to three vehicles in each police station limit.

Efforts to bring down the response time to below 15 minutes were started by former police commissioner Praveen Sood. Subsequently, the response time was brought down to 13 minutes, and then 11 minutes on an average. Mr. Dayananda has now brought the response time down to 7.15 minutes.

It’s been a week since the Namma Metro’s Purple Line commenced operations, connecting the eastern and western parts of Bengaluru. The initial relief, however, has now given way to exasperation among passengers, as the six-coach trains are running overcrowded, leading to long queues and causing inconvenience.

Officials say this problem will persist until they acquire new coaches. Currently, the BMRCL operates 57 trains, with 33 designated for the Purple Line and 24 for the Green Line. The China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) is set to deliver 216 coaches soon. The CRRC, which won a ₹1,578-crore contract in 2019, faced delays due to its failure to establish a manufacturing plant in India.

Jayanagar police arrested a 35-year-old priest for allegedly trying to implicate his US-based cousin in the name of Infosys Foundation Chairperson Sudha Murthy. Posing as Ms. Murthy’s PA, the accused had spoken to Kannada Koota in California confirming her presence as chief guest. He had also taken ₹5 lakh from the association in the name of his US-based cousin.

The cheating came to light when the office of Ms. Murthy called up the association to deny that she had accepted the invitation. The PA of Ms. Murthy filed a cheating complaint with the jurisdictional Jayanagar police.

Six members of two families died in an accident involving a public transport bus and a multi-utility vehicle in Gadag district on October 16. Three children suffered grievous injuries. Five died on the spot while a grievously injured boy breathed his last in the hospital.