Amnesty denies allegation of anti-India slogan; CM says guilty will be punished

August 16, 2016

Bengaluru, Aug 16: A sedition case was filed against the India chapter of Amnesty International on Tuesday for allegedly allowing its employees to raise anti-India slogans at an event on Kashmir in Bangaluru.

The development was confirmed by Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara, who said that a sedition case has been filed against the India brand of Amnesty International for raising pro-Kashmir freedom slogans at a Bengaluru based event.

"We have to now look into it more seriously, they have taken the case, registered an FIR, investigating what exactly has happened and also looking to those videos and CCTV tapings. Whatever the police investigations, according to that, action will be taken," said Parameshwara.

A case was registered against Amnesty International India under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 124A, 142, 143, 147, 153 in connection with alleged raising of "independence" slogans by "pro-freedom" Kashmiris who entered into arguments with a Kashmiri Pandit leader for hailing the Indian Army.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the state police is probing the case."The FIR has been registered. The police officials are probing the case. After the investigation, law will take its own course," said Siddaramaiah.

Meanwhile, reacting to the First Information Report (FIR) filed by the ABVP group, Amnesty International India` said, that the allegations mentioned in the complaint are without substance and that it is an attempt to prevent the families of victims of human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir from having their stories heard.

And at the same time, the authorities are also stopping civil society organisations from enabling these families to exercise their constitutional right to justice.

"Amnesty International India`s vision is for every person in India to enjoy the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, other international human rights standards, and the Constitution of India. We are independent of any political, economic or ideological interests," said a statement from Amnesty International.

A panel discussion on Saturday had turned chaotic as some "pro-freedom" Kashmiris, entered into heated arguments with a Kashmiri Pandit leader for hailing the Indian Army.

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists, who staged a protest against the event and called it "anti-national", had also filed a complaint.

The event was organised by Amnesty International India at United Theological College.

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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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