The Bengaluru Police on Wednesday made the first arrest related to the multi-storied under-construction building collapse in northern Bengaluru, which claimed the lives of five people and injured dozens. The police said that they have arrested Bhuvan Reddy, son of Munireddy, under whose name the building was constructed.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) D Devaraj said that the Contractor, Muniyappa, who has built four floors has been taken into custody. The deceased has been identified as Arman (26), Tripal (35), Mohamed Sahil (19), Sathya Raju (25) and Shankar. Nearly 18 people have been rescued so far. The police added that Jagadevi (45), Rasheed (28), Nagaraju (25), Ramesh Kumar (28), Arman (22), and Ayaz were being treated at the hospital. 

The incident occurred in the city’s Hennur part, in an area named Babusapalya on Tuesday evening, amid heavy rainfall. Nonetheless, reports said that the cause of the collapse wasn’t rain, but the sub-standard material and poor construction. It added that the seven-storey building only had permission for four floors.

Additionally, the pillar rods for building should have been 28-30 mm thick, but those used had only 18-20 mm thickness. Also, for moulding, where 14-16 mm thick rods should have been used, there was a possibility that the rods used were only 8-10 mm thick. Reports said, there was also a possibility that less than required amount of cement and more sand was used in the construction.

Reacting to the incident,  Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said that a total of 21 labourers were present inside the building at the time of the incident. He added that a 26-year-old Arman’s body was recovered. He mentioned that 26 people were at the construction site in a day. The Deputy Chief Minister also told a news agency that illegal activities were going on at the site and that he would take strict action against the owner and others involved.

Meanwhile, Bengaluru has been witnessing continuous rain, with several parts of the city, especially north Bengaluru, facing waterlogging, potholes and traffic. As per the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, Yelahanka received 157 mm of rain in just six hours from midnight to 6 am on Tuesday.

PM Narendra Modi held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of BRICS Summit in Kazan. In the bilateral meeting, the Prime Minister reiterated a peaceful solution to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. 

Mentioning that he has been in constant touch with Vladimir Putin on the subject of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, PM Narendra Modi once again reiterated that India believes that the problems should be resolved in a peaceful manner.

The Prime Minister added that they fully support the early establishment of peace and stability. He added that all their efforts give priority to humanity. He further said that India is ready to provide all possible cooperation in the times to come.

This is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second visit to Russia in three months. Speaking on the same, PM Modi stated that his two visits to Russia in the last three months reflect the close coordination and deep friendship between the countries. He added that their Annual Summit in Moscow in July has strengthened cooperation in every field. He said that in 15 years, the BRICS has created its special identity and now many countries of the world want to join it. He expressed that he is looking forward to participating in the BRICS Summit tomorrow.

During the bilateral talks, Vladimir Putin also recalled PM Modi’s visit to Russia in July. Extending gratitude to PM Modi for accepting the invitation to come to Kazan, the Russian President said that they will participate in the opening ceremony of the BRICS Summit and after that, they will have a dinner. He added that Russian-Indian relations have the character of a particularly privileged strategic partnership and continue to actively develop.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, and hold bilateral talks with leaders from the other Brics member nations as well. The summit comes in the wake of ongoing global unrest, including the Russia-Ukraine war and the Middle East crisis.

Nearly 30 flights faced bomb threats, mostly on international routes, from Monday night to Tuesday morning. Reportedly, the flights targeted included 10 from IndiGo, 10 from Vistara, and 10 from Air India, all of which received threats during this period. With this, incidents involving multiple hoax calls, have pushed the total number of such threats received by the airline this week to over 120.

Reportedly, the most recent threats targeted flights to major destinations such as Jeddah, Istanbul, and Riyadh. After the fresh threats, IndiGo promptly followed security protocols, ensuring that all passengers were safely disembarked, and authorities were alerted.

One of the affected flights, Flight 6E 164 from Mangaluru to Mumbai, received a security alert, disembarked the passengers, and thorough security checks were conducted. Another Flight 6E 75 from Ahmedabad to Jeddah was escorted to the isolation bay upon landing, where passengers were safely evacuated, following the standard operating procedures.

Reports stated, other flights that faced similar threats include Flight 6E 118 from Lucknow to Pune, Flight 6E 67 from Hyderabad to Jeddah, Flight 6E 18 from Istanbul to Mumbai, Flight 6E 83 from Delhi to Dammam, Flight 6E 77 from Bengaluru to Jeddah (diverted to Doha), Flight 6E 12 from Istanbul to Delhi, Flight 6E 65 from Kozhikode to Jeddah (diverted to Riyadh) and Flight 6E 63 from Delhi to Jeddah (diverted to Medina).

These fresh threats follow a day after Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said that making hoax bomb threat calls to airlines will be made a cognisable offence. In the last few days, multiple carriers have received several such calls, significantly disrupting flight operations across the country.

On Saturday alone, over 30 flights received such messages. The carriers include Air India, IndiGo, Akasa Air, Vistara, SpiceJet, Star Air and Alliance Air. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) held a meeting with CEOs and representatives of airlines in New Delhi on October 19.