Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

1. SIR in Karnataka: Draft roll out now, here’s how you can check itThe Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Karnataka, has published the draft electoral rolls for the State. The rolls can be checked here. However, the process hit a glitch in the initial hours of the release itself, with the website crashing owing to heavy traffic for some constituencies. Citizens who tried to access the rolls were met with error messages or PDFs that would not open.The draft roll has seen the deletion of more than 1.07 crore names. Bengaluru, which had an electorate of 1.03 crore voters, has seen its electoral roll shrink to 56.11 lakh voters. Those who find their names marked under the Absent, Shifted, Duplicate, Dead or Others categories can fill out Form 6 and apply for inclusion during the claims and objections period, from August 24 to September 22.2. Karnataka Legislative Assembly passes 8 Bills in an hour without debate amid BJP protestEight major Bills were tabled and passed by the Karnataka Legislative Assembly within an hour on August 24, without debate, as BJP and JD(S) members stormed the well of the House demanding the resignation of Minister B. Nagendra, who has been chargesheeted in the alleged embezzlement of funds in the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.Among the bills was the Karnataka Government Parks (Preservation) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to separate 5% of park land in the form sale, lease, gift, exchange or mortgage for public utility projects undertaken by government departments, statutory authorities, government companies or local bodies.The amendment is largely aimed at facilitating infrastructure projects, including the proposed 17.1-km Bengaluru North-South Twin Tunnel Road. If enacted, the law could potentially allow up to 5% of the land at Lalbagh Botanical Garden to be utilised for such projects. The proposal has already drawn strong opposition from citizen groups, environmentalists and BJP MPs.3. Police take BJP leaders into custody as they try to lay siege to Vidhana Soudha in BengaluruSeveral BJP leaders, including leaders of the Opposition in both the Houses of the State legislature, were taken into custody by the police on August 24, when they tried to lay a siege to Vidhana Soudha, demanding the resignation of Minister B. Nagendra. BJP State President B.Y. Vijayendra, former Deputy CM Dr. C.N. Ashwath Narayan, Opposition Chief Whip in Council Ravikumar, MLC C.T. Ravi and former minister B. Sriramulu besides a host of party workers were among those taken into custody by the police.The BJP members, who have been staging a protest both inside and outside the Legislature demanding resignation of Mr. Nagendra in the wake of him being chargesheeted in the case of embezzlement of funds meant for welfare of ST communities, stepped up their campaign on August 24. They gathered at the Freedom Park in Bengaluru and later marched towards Vidhana Soudha. They indulged in sloganeering and accused the Congress government of cheating Dalits by shielding Nagendra.4. Tiger sighted in forest area in Kishkindha hills of Koppal after nearly five decadesA tiger has been camera-trapped in the Kishkindha hills of Koppal district, nearly five decades after the big cat was last reported in the forest area of the region, prompting the Forest Department to step up vigilance and alert local communities.Wildlife experts said the tiger may have been frequenting the hill forests for several months and could have entered the area through a wildlife corridor connecting it to the Srisailam landscape in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.The Forest Department began monitoring the area after receiving repeated reports over the past three months of a tiger moving around the Yelugudda region. One of the cameras, placed at Temba, captured the tiger moving through the area on August 23.5. Former Udupi Panchayat president’s murder: Police secure gangster after shooting at his legThe Udupi police secured Anuj Patil, 35, of Bihar, a gangster, after shooting at his leg when he was running away from police custody. Patil shot at the police team after snatching a police officer’s service revolver and tried to escape on August 24 morning.With this arrest, the police have secured a total of 10 accused persons for the murder of Mudarangadi Gram Panchayat President David D’Souza on August 7, 2026.Police said that Anuj Patil was the person that Kishore Ram Poojary, who is arrested for giving ‘supari’, contacted to hire three assailants to carry out the murder. The police have arrested the three alleged assailants.