Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

Karnataka Today newsletter: NIA reconstructs crime scene at The Rameshwaram Cafe with alleged bomber, and more

Sleuths of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) reconstructed the crime scene at The Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru, where a low-intensity IED blast left nine injured on March 1, 2024. On August 5, NIA sleuths brought the alleged bomber Mussavir Hussain Shazib to the cafe wearing a face mask and a cap similar to the one he had on when he allegedly placed the IED.

The reconstruction of the crime was recorded on video by the sleuths, and will be submitted for forensic analysis along with the original CCTV footage. The videos will undergo a gait analysis to check whether the persons in the two footages are the same, sources said. A positive match will give the NIA forensic evidence that the bomber was indeed Mussavir Hussain Shazib.

“We will fight the MUDA case legally and politically,” Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced in Belagavi on August 5. “The government of Karnataka and the Congress party will effectively deal with the case legally and politically,” he told reporters in the airport in Sambra before leaving for a visit to flood-hit areas in the district.

“The State Cabinet has decided that the Raj Bhavan should withdraw the notice issued to the CM and reject the complaint filed by T.J. Abraham. This request has been communicated to the Governor’s office,” he said. “We have to wait and see the next steps that the Governor will take in this regard,” he said.

A woman waiting for a neighbour to join her for a morning walk was molested and assaulted by an unidentified man in Konanakunte police station limits in Bengaluru on August 3. The incident was caught the CCTV camera of a house on the road. Police are trying to track down the culprit.

Following the one-minute-long clip going viral on social media on August 4, police tracked down the victim, who lodged a complaint. Police registered an FIR. A case has been registered under Sections 74 (assault or use of criminal force on woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 75 (sexual harassment) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita 2023.

Mangaluru-based National Environment Care Federation has written to Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot to revoke the appointment of politically-connected persons as members of the Karnataka State Board for Wildlife. The board is a statutory body advising the government of Karnataka on wildlife conservation with the Chief Minister as its chairperson.