Guntur district witnessed a significant decline in several major crimes during the first four months of 2026 compared to the corresponding period last year.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Vakul Jindal, in an interaction with The Hindu, referred to the comparative crime statistics from January to April. The SP said serious offences such as murder, rape, kidnapping, attempt to murder and cheating registered notable reductions. Murder cases declined from 19 in 2025 to 10 in 2026, marking a 47.4% decrease. Rape cases dropped from 28 to 19, a fall of 32%, while kidnapping cases came down from 13 to 6, recording a 54% reduction.

Attempt to murder cases reduced from 40 to 23, registering a 42.5% decline. Grievous hurt cases saw a sharp fall from 20 to 5, reflecting a 75% reduction. Cheating cases declined from 241 to 189, a decrease of 22%, while theft cases reduced from 300 to 259, showing a 14% drop.

House breaking cases during night hours also came down significantly from 63 to 43, a reduction of 32%. Overall IPC/BNS crimes declined from 2,342 to 2,179, registering a 7% decrease during the review period.

Mr. Vakul Jindal attributed the decline in major crimes to intensified patrolling, surveillance, improved investigation standards and continuous monitoring by police officers at different levels. He said special focus had been laid on crime prevention, quick response systems and community policing initiatives.

At the same time, the SP acknowledged that day time robbery and house breaking categories recorded an increase and required police focus. Robbery cases increased from 3 to 5 and day-time house breaking cases rose from 15 to 21.

The district’s overall case count increased marginally from 3,381 cases in 2025 to 3,451 in 2026, registering a rise of 2%. The SP said police would intensify enforcement, intelligence gathering and preventive policing in areas showing an upward trend in offences.

He said that police crackdown on drugs, enforcement on open drinking, and strengthening of night patrolling have reduced crime in the district.

As the police have been lodging cases on open drinking under the Prohibition Act, the number of cases in this category has also increased.

An APSRTC bus went up in flames after it came in touch with low-hanging high tension power cables at Veerannagattupalle village in Kadapa district on Sunday. The incident has turned out to be a matter of concern considering the half a dozen such instances witnessed in Andhra Pradesh over the last fortnight.

The APSRTC rural service (Palle Velugu) bus was proceeding from Kadiri in Sri Sathya Sai district to Vempalle in Kadapa district when the accident happened at Veerannagattupalle.

After seeing smoke rising from the roof of the bus, the 22 passengers raised an alarm and brought the bus to a halt before rushing out to safety. Even as the passengers watched helplessly, the bus went up in flames and was almost completely gutted before the fire tenders arrived.

Left stranded in a remote location, the passengers had to search for alternative modes of transport to reach their destination.

Meanwhile, Transport Minister Mandipalli Ramprasad Reddy, who sought the details of the accident, praised the the driver for his prompt response in bringing the bus to a halt and saving the lives of the passengers.

Sri City, one of the leading business cities in India, promises to stand by its commitment of maintaining gender-inclusive employment, with women forming nearly half of its 70,000 strong workforce.

Though factories and work floors are traditionally perceived to be male-centric, the manufacturing floors at the plants in Sri City of Tirupati district have a different tale to narrate – women play a crucial role in their operations, efficient management and innovative thinking. There are 250 companies representing 31 countries here.

The phenomenon has even drawn the attention of leaders like Rajya Sabha’s Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh during the national conference on women’s empowerment held in Tirupati in 2025, where Sri City was referred to as ‘Sthree City’ (Women’s domain).

Be it automobile, electronics, garments, food processing, formulations, healthcare and hygiene products or consumer goods, an increasing number of women has taken up crucial roles in assembly, quality control, testing, supply-chain and supervisory operations.

In fact, female participation ranges up to 97% in some plants, while there are some production lines that are entirely run by women. For example, companies like MSR Garments, Zen Linen, Everton Tea, Alstom, Daikin, Havell’s, Blue Star, Isuzu, Mondelez India, Kellogg’s, Colgate-Palmolive, Axxelent Pharma and Unicharm continue to expand women’s participation in precision-driven manufacturing.

Women, who are known to pay attention to detail, are preferred in precision tasks like soldering, wiring, brazing and robotics-assisted assembly. Lower attrition rate is another advantage working in favour of women, as it reduces recruitment costs.

Sri City’s HR Academy has trained over 4,000 locals, a chunk of them women, whose employment is believed to uplift the entire local community. Sri City’s CSR investments in local community have exceeded ₹61 crore in the form of strengthening education, healthcare and rural infrastructure.

Referring to independent assessments taken up by Tata Institute of Social Sciences, the University of Denmark and Sri Padmavati Mahila Viswa Vidyalayam (SPMVV), Sri City’s Managing Director Ravindra Sannareddy has observed that narrowing gender gaps and prioritising skill development has created an ecosystem with women at the helm.

The Board of Secondary Education, Andhra Pradesh, on Wednesday informed that hall tickets for the SSC Public Examinations, scheduled to commence from March 16, 2026, will be officially released on March 5, 2026 (Thursday) at 11 a.m.

In a statement, Director of Government Examinations K.S. Reddy said students can download their hall tickets either from the official website of the Board www.bse.ap.gov.in, WhatsApp Governance- Mana Mitra service (No. 9552300009), or LEAP application of the School Education Department.

Andhra Pradesh Women’s Commission Chairperson Rayapati Sailaja on Wednesday said concerted efforts to prevent teenage pregnancies were crucial, requiring a multi-stakeholder approach to address the health, social, and economic consequences of early motherhood.

Speaking at a State level consultation on “Multi-Sectoral Strategies to Prevent Teenage Pregnancies in Andhra Pradesh”, Dr. Sailaja stressed the need to scale up awareness among not only children but also their parents to prevent child marriages and teenage pregnancies. She said the focus should be on skill development through vocational education courses to enhance employability among youth and suggested that sarpanches and local leaders in village and mandal-level committees be involved and assigned with specific responsibilities.

The women’s panel chief said as part of comprehensive efforts to curb teenage pregnancies, the Commission was implementing an integrated action plan with the target of reducing such cases to below 5 % through coordination among all departments.

She said young girls should be made to understand the adverse consequences of teenage pregnancies and child marriages through structured health modules. She said teenage pregnancy cases were being reported from various parts of the State, with relatively higher prevalence in agency areas such as Paderu and later in Kurnool district. She directed the authorities concerned to initiate immediate and effective steps to implement the decisions and strategies formulated during this awareness seminar.

Speaking about the importance of creating awareness among school children regarding Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) rights and personal safety, she said identifying school dropouts and re-enrolling them in educational institutions would significantly help in addressing the issue.

She said the officials concerned should focus on providing vocational training to girls aged 15 to 16 and above, strengthen them economically, and channel their time towards productive activities. The Health Department would prepare and distribute special health modules focusing on reproductive health and menstrual hygiene, she said.

India is swiftly moving toward a $5 trillion economy, but the long-term vision is to build a $30 trillion economic powerhouse, said Andhra Pradesh Minister for Education, IT, and Electronics Nara Lokesh.

Addressing the CII–VIT Andhra Pradesh Higher Education Conclave 2025 in Amaravati on Wednesday, Mr. Lokesh stressed that strategic reforms in higher education are vital to achieve this national goal.

The Minister informed that Andhra Pradesh attracted $120 billion in investments over the past 17 months due to its “speed of doing” policies, with another $120 billion expected soon. “Our target is $1 trillion in investments by 2029,” he said, emphasising that strong States strengthen the nation.

Highlighting India’s demographic advantage, with 54% of its population under 25, Mr. Lokesh said that only 34.7% of the workforce has formal skill training. He underlined the urgent need for skill-oriented education. He said: “To bridge the skill gap, the government has launched a skill census and an AI-based “Naipunyam Portal” to align the youths capabilities with industry needs.”

The Minister announced that Andhra Pradesh aims to become a $2.4 trillion economy by 2047, with education serving as the cornerstone. Mr. Lokesh identified five focus areas, including curriculum to career, research and innovation, digital skills, internationalisation, and regional balance, to transform the State into a knowledge and innovation hub.

The Madanapalle police of Annamayya district on Wednesday (November 12) booked seven persons, including a senior government doctor and two government hospital technicians, on the charge of illegally removing the kidney of a 29-year-old woman from Visakhapatnam, who died after the procedure.

According to the police, the incident took place at Global Multi-Speciality Hospital in SBI Colony here around 2.30 p.m. on November 9. A case was registered at the II-Town police station on November 12 after a relative of the woman, identified as Sadi Yamuna from Boddapalem village at Anandapuram mandal in Visakhapatnam district, reported her as missing.

According to preliminary investigation, Anjaneyulu (A-1), District Coordinator of Health Services (DCHS- Annamayya district) who also worked for Global Multi Speciality Hospital, in collusion with a doctor from Bengaluru (A-2) and dialysis technicians Balu (A-3) of Government Hospital, Madanapalle, and Meharaj (A-4) of Government Hospital, Kadiri, performed an illegal kidney removal/transplantation procedure without seeking permission from the competent authority as per the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act. The kidney was said to have been meant for a dialysis patient in Goa.

They were allegedly assisted by Pilli Padma (A-5), Sathya (A-6) and Suri (A-7), all residents of Visakhapatnam who were part of the conspiracy for money.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (SP-Madanapalle) S. Mahendra told The Hindu that the accused convinced the Yamuna, a widow, to sell her kidney so she could overcome her financial problems. The kidney was allegedly removed and sold illegally without the knowledge of her family members.

After the procedure, Yamuna reportedly slipped into a coma and was rushed to the SVRR Hospital in Tirupati on November 9, but she died in the early hours of November 10. After her death, the accused allegedly tried to transport Yamuna’s body to her native village without informing her family.

The Deputy SP said the body was brought back to the Government Hospital in Madanapalle from Tirupati on Wednesday. “We are waiting for the post-mortem examination report,” he said. Criminal cases under sections of the BNS and the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act have been registered against the accused.

Busa Suramma, Yamuna’s mother, reached Madanapalle on Wednesday and lodged a formal complaint with the police.

Andhra Pradesh have seen several cases of illegal kidney trade. In 2018, the Guntur police busted a racket where fake Aadhaar and family-relation certificates were used to pass off unrelated donors as relatives. In 2023, a private hospital in Visakhapatnam’s Pendurthi area was sealed after the arrest of six persons in a case pertaining to illegal kidney transplants. In 2024, two separate cases in Guntur exposed rackets where an autorickshaw driver was duped into selling his kidney for a fraction of the promised sum, while another group arranged illegal transplants using forged documents.

Four professors from Yogi Vemana University (YVU) featured in the World’s Top 2% Scientists list published by Stanford University in its 2025 edition.

M.V. Shankar from the Department of Material Science and Nano-technology, L. Veeranjaney Reddy from the Department of Microbiology, and Katta Venkateswarlu from Department of Chemistry were among the list. Additionally, YVU Vice-Chancellor Allam Srinivasa Rao was also included in the list.

“The inclusion of professors from the university in the top 2% scientists list for research is commendable and reflects the progress of the university’s academic research. I hope that this achievement would contribute to the upcoming NAAC accreditation and the National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings,” the V-C said.

On September 7, Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to solve the long-pending Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal issue between Punjab and Haryana, saying, “It’s the duty of the Centre to ensure water for Punjab and Haryana, not to make them fight”.

In a press conference at Haryana’s Hisar, he accused BJP of dual-speak, adding, “What’s the stand of the Congress and the BJP in Punjab and Haryana? In Punjab, they say we will not let the SYL canal be constructed. In Haryana, they say we will take SYL waters at any cost. These people do dirty politics”.