Bomb blast, political scandals, financial frauds & cybercrimes: Karnataka saw it all in 2024

Bengaluru: Crime reporters in Bengaluru and Karnataka can breathe a sigh of relief as 2024, one of the few in recent history to see major crimes and scandals, comes to a close. The year saw terror attacks, political scandals, gruesome murders, financial scams and a massive spike in cybercrimes. 

It began on March 1 when an IED blast at the popular Rameshwaram Cafe in Brookefield, injured 10 people. After a preliminary probe by the city crime branch, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the probe. 

Credit: DHNS

Mussavir Hussain Shazib, the suspected bomber, and Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taha, the alleged mastermind, were arrested on April 12 by the NIA from West Bengal. The NIA filed a charge sheet on September 9 against the two as well as Maaz Muneer Ahmed and Muzammil Shareef. 

In April, a major scandal sent shockwaves through the state after following allegations of rape, voyeurism and sexual assault against former Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna and his father JD(S) Holenarasipura MLA HD Revanna. 

While Prajwal fled, his father Revanna faced arrest and was released later on bail. The government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case, which arrested Prajwal after upon his return from Germany on May 31. 

The SIT has filed three charge sheets against Prajwal, accusing him of repeated rape, sexual assault and voyeurism. Revanna was charged with sexual assault in another case and with kidnapping a victim along with his wife Bhavani Revanna in another case. Multiple bail pleas by Prajwal, so far, stand rejected. 

The discovery of the mutilated body of Chitradurga native Renukaswamy on June 9 in Bengaluru’s Sumanahalli led to the arrest of Kannada film star Darshan Thoogudeepa, his female friend Pavithra Gowda and 15 other associates. 

After investigating the case for nearly three months, Bengaluru police on September 3 charged Pavithra, Darshan and others with Renukaswamy’s murder. All accused are currently out on bail. 

During the same time, a political scandal broke out after the suicide of the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation’s accounts superintendent Chandrashekhar at his Shivamogga residence on May 26. 

After Chandrashekar, in his purported death note, alleged irregularities of Rs 94.73 crore in the corporation, the government formed an SIT. As the SIT probed, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) swooped in, while the CBI also registered an FIR. 

B Nagendra, the ST welfare minister, was forced to resign on June 6. The ED arrested Nagendra on July 12 and its charge sheet called him the mastermind. The SIT’s two charge sheets made no mention of the former minister, who is currently out on bail. 

On September 21, the decomposed and dismembered body of Mahalakshmi, 29, chopped into 59 pieces, was found in a fridge at her house in Vyalikaval. Police zeroed in on her boyfriend Mukti Ranjan Ray and began tracing him. Ray was found dead in his native village in Odisha on September 25. Police said a “soured relationship” was the motive. 

On November 30 and December 17, an SIT filed two charge sheets against BJP MLA Munirathna, accusing him of rape, voyeurism spreading dangerous disease and hurling casteist abuses. Two more cases are being probed by the SIT. 

The year also saw the emergence of a major cybercrime — digital arrest. Until November, cybercrime victims in Bengaluru lost a whopping Rs 1,806 crore, more than the combined amount lost from 2019 to 2023 (Rs 1,187 crore), while 16,357 cases were registered.