Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

1. Abhijeet Dipke, Dhruv Rathee address ‘People’s Tribunal’ against SIR in Bengaluru

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee participated in the “People’s Tribunal” on the SIR of electoral rolls in Bengaluru’s Freedom Park on October 8, 2026. This was followed by a “chappal protest.” Mr. Dipke accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “murdering democracy and vote theft,” and said protests will go on till CEC Gyanesh Kumar resigns from his post.

Following the release of a report on the irregularities in SIR across 100 polling stations in Karnataka, Mr. Rathee said “Narendra Modi must be thinking I have a problem with him, but the entire nation has a problem with him.” He then proceeded to pose three claims and questions about the SIR exercise in West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Goa. Read our live coverage of the protest here.

2. KPSC recruitment scam: ED arrests suspended chairperson, member; ₹20–40 lakh bribe for leaked answer keys

The Enforcement Directorate arrested suspended Karnataka Public Service Commission Chairperson Shivashankarappa Sahukar and KPSC member B.V. Geetha in connection with alleged manipulation of the recruitment examination for 400 Veterinary Officer posts, including the leakage of candidate-specific answer keys and exploitation of confidential merit-list data to collect bribes.

The duo were arrested on October 6 after the ED searched their premises under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). They were produced in the Special Court for PMLA cases (CCH-4) on October 7, which granted the ED 14 days’ custody of both accused.