Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

Karnataka Today newsletter: Anjali Ambiger murder accused nabbed in Davangere with severe injuries, and more

The accused in the murder of Anjali Ambiger in Hubballi — Girish Sawant — has been nabbed by the Karnataka police in Davangere. Anjali Ambiger, 20, was stabbed to death by a youth in her house at Veerapur Oni in Hubballi on May 15 morning. The girl had reportedly rejected his proposal for marriage. Police had been in search of the accused.

According to police, the accused suffered injuries on the head and face after jumping off a running train, reportedly following a scuffle. He is under treatment at KIMS Hospital in Hubballi. He was found by the railway police who rushed him to a hospital in Davangere. Initially, they were not aware that he is a murder suspect. Later, one of the officers noticed that his facial features resembled that of the accused. The Hubballi-Dharwad Police were alerted, who rushed to Davangere and took custody of Girish.

The first evidence of rock art in Mangaluru city has been found near Boloor Panne Koteda Babbu Swamy shrine, according to T. Murugeshi, retired Associate Professor, Ancient History and Archaeology, MSRS College, Shirva. This discovery is part of the work of recreating history of Babbu Swamy, taken up in association with Minchinabavi Kordabbu Trust, Padubidri, Udupi district.

Mr. Murugeshi said the rock art is in the form of a pair of human footprints, found on a natural stone boulder near the shrine. These footprints might have been created in the first or second century A.D. “This will make us rethink about the origin of Babbu Swamy, a revered legend of the region,” he said.

Over the years Kerehaklu, a family-run plantation in started in the early 1950s in Chikkamagaluru, has lost large tracts of coffee cultivation to forest fires. Come summer, most indigenous trees shed their leaves and dried debris piles up on the forest floor. By March, the wild grass is bone dry, too, and highly combustible. But one of the worst offenders is bamboo.

Every fire season, Ajoy Thipaiah, proprietor of the estate, and other workers keep a lookout because the undulating landscape of the Western Ghats means they can look down at vast areas and locate fires quickly. However, there’s only so much that vigilant fire watchers and precautionary fire lines can do. More manpower is the need of the hour.

A 33-year-old man died of bullet injuries while on a hunt for wild boars near Uluvagilu village in Chikkamagaluru taluk. He had been on a hunt for wild boars with a group of people near Uluvagilu village on May 16 night He was injured when a member of the group opened fire, and the bullet hit him.