Annamalai replaces Santosh Babu as Ckm SP; Balakrishna is new Udupi SP

July 27, 2016

Udupi, Jul 26: In a mini police reshuffle effected by the state government, K Annamalai, the superintendent of police of Udupi district, who was known as Udupi's Singham, has been transferred and posted as Chikkamagaluru SP.

K T Balakrishna, a 2006 batch IPS officer, who is currently serving as the SP of Gadag will soon be replacing the outgoing IPS officer in Udupi. Mr Annamailai's batch mate (2011) K Santosh Babu will replace Balakrishna in Gadag.

Incidentally, the current posting for Annamalai to Chikkamagaluru means he has served his formative years in the Indian Police Service in Western Range of Karnataka State Police.

Udupi, Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada and Chikkamagaluru form part of Western Range, and Annamalai was assistant superintendent of police in Karkala sub-division of Udupi district police before assuming the mantle of district police chief in the very same district.

Reacting to the transfer order Mr Annamalai said that he is happy to have served in Udupi district and win the affection people and all stakeholders. "It is a shift to a neighbouring district," Annamalai said about his latest posting. When pointed he was still in the Western Range even with this transfer, Annamalai laughed it off. Annamalai had come across as a no nonsense officer who did not hesitate to lay down the law, while dealing with toughest of situations.

The transfer of Santosh Babu, who earlier served as deputy commissioner of police (law and order) in Mangaluru City Police is largely seen as a fall out of the controversy surrounding the recent death of Chikkamgaluru deputy superintendent of police Kallappa Handibag.

In fact, it was the first of the deaths of an officer at the DSP level the other being that of M K Ganapathi that put the Siddaramaiah government under a spotlight over morale of state police.

Comments

The team headed by Annamalai also seized Rs 45,000 from the gamblers. Annamalai has ordered the suspension of 4 policemen. Great job sir you are needed to Chickmaglur much earlier any its not too late there are lot of big fishes to catch may god bless for your endless good work

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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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