3 arrested for murder attempt on Imtiyaz; 3 others held for assault on Bajrang Dal activist Harish Sehtty

coastaldigest.com web desk

October 4, 2018

Mangaluru, Oct 4: A special police team constituted to investigate two assault cases, said to be retaliatory ones, reported from Moodbidri police limits on September 24, arrested three persons in each case.

Dhanaraj (25), a resident of Thokur, Dinesh Poojary (38), a resident of Sasihithlu, and Shashwath Shetty (23), a resident of Honnakatte, were arrested in connection with the assault on Imtiyaz, proprietor of Badirya Hotel at Gantalkatte in Karinje village.

A gang of miscreants had attempted to murder Imtiyaz on September 24 in his restaurant.

Imtiyaz is one of the accused in the murder case of Bajrang Dal leader Prashant Poojary, who was hacked to death in Moodbidri by six assailants on 9 October 2015.

There are other accused to be arrested in connection with attempt to murder, said a communique from the police.

Similarly, Mohammed Sharief alias Sharief (24), a resident of Ammunje, Shifaz (21), and Mohammed Arif (28), both residents of Kandavara-Bajpe, were arrested in connection with the assault on Harish Shetty of Moodbidri, the police said.

Harish Shetty is the convenor of Bajrang Dal’s Gurupura unit. He was attacked near Bajpe-Kaikamba within hours after murder attempt on Imtiyaz.

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Elusive bamboo shrimp resurfaces in Mangaluru estuary after 70 years

News Network

December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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