Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

1. Bengaluru stampede case: Tribunal quashes suspension of IPS officer, says RCB responsible for larger gathering

The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on July 1, 2025) quashed the suspension of IPS officer Vikash Kumar Vikash, who was Additional Commissioner of Police (West) when a stampede at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium claimed 11 lives on June 4, and has challenged his suspension order. It also directed the Karnataka Government to reinstate him in the post he held.

The CAT said that the suspension order “has been passed in a mechanical manner and the order is not based upon any convincing materials. The police officers have been suspended without any sufficient material or grounds”. The Tribunal further said that it expects that the government “will give the same benefit to the other officers who were suspended by the same order”.

Former city Police Commissioner B. Dayananda, former DCP (Central) H.T. Shekhar, former Cubbon Park ACP Balakrishna and former Cubbon Park inspector Girish are the other four officers suspended by the same order. The order is seen as a setback for the State government as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had personally announced the suspension of officers at a press conference.

2. Power supply cut off at Chinnaswamy Stadium over fire safety violations; HC pulls up BESCOM

Power supply to the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, managed by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), was cut off on June 30, 2025, by the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) due to non-compliance of fire safety regulations by the stadium. On June 10, 2025, the Director General (DG) of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services issued an order and wrote to Managing Director of Bescom to disconnect power supply to the stadium as they had not taken proper fire safety measures.

Following these developments, KSCA wrote to Bescom and asked for 15 days time to comply with fire safety norms. However, Bescom gave them 7 days’ time and the notice for the same was issued on June 20. This meant that by June 27, they would have to comply to all the fire safety norms. However, as the KSCA failed to comply even after the window provided, the power utility disconnected electricity supply on June 30, as June 28 and June 29 were holidays. 

3. 26 patients evacuated after minor fire at burns ward in State-run Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru

For patients already fighting to recover from the trauma of burns, the irony could not have been more cruel. In the pre-dawn hours on July 1, 2025, a fire broke out inside the Mahabodhi Burns Ward of the State-run Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru, leading to fear and panic among patients and their attenders.

As smoke engulfed the unit, 26 patients, including five in the ICU, were hurriedly evacuated. The fire, which broke out around 3 a.m., is suspected to have originated from a short circuit in a switch board in the seminar room adjacent to the ward on the first floor of the building.

4. After NICE Road, toll hiked on Bengaluru–Nelamangala section of NH4, irked commuters call it ‘unfair’

Starting July 1, commuters travelling on the Bengaluru–Nelamangala section of National Highway-4 (NH-4) will pay revised toll fees, according to a public notice issued by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The Tumakuru road stretch is a key route for traffic entering and exiting Bengaluru, particularly from the north and northwest.

The new tariff structure applies to the 19.5 km access-controlled stretch between 10 km and 29.500 km. The revised toll rates will be applicable at six different plazas along this route. While the hike is based on the Wholesale Price Index as of March 31, 2025, daily commuters and small transport operators have voiced their frustration, saying the revision adds to their mounting travel and operational expenses.

5. ‘Silence is not neutrality, speak up’: Karnataka activists and intellectuals write open letter to industry and tech leaders

Urging industry and technology leaders to stand with the farmers of Devanahalli, as many as 30 scholars, scientists, and public-policy experts from Karnataka have asked them to speak out on the protracted land conflict and displacement of the farming community in the region.

In an open letter dated July 1, 2025, the signatories including Ramachandra Guha, Sabiha Bhoomigowda, Chandan Gowda, Janaki Nair among others, appealed to business leaders to seek from the State government a thorough review of the Devanahalli acquisition and support a broader public dialogue on Karnataka’s land-acquisition policy.