Another shock: School principal raped over 30 girls in hostel

July 24, 2014

Bangalore, Jul 24: A school principal, who was arrested last month on charges of sexually harassing hostel inmates, has reportedly confessed that he had sexually assaulted at least 30 girls in the hostel.

Horrific tales of sexual attacks by Principal Mallikarjun Swamy (52) came to light when the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) recently met students of the residential school in Anekal taluk. The principal removed the latches of doors to rooms in which older girls were staying, and allegedly took their photographs when they were bathing, the CWC alleged.

Swamy was arrested last month after TV channels telecast footage of him and his associates consuming alcohol on the hostel premises. He was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The principal allegedly borrowed pillows from the girls, saying they helped him dream.

CWC members said they found the girls in a state of shock, and managed to get them to open up after a lot of convincing. "Once they started opening up, we were shocked by revelations about what the principal was doing to them," said Vishalakshi CS.

A 15-year-old girl, who was the constant target of the principal's assaults, was so disturbed that her statement had to be recorded in front of a magistrate to strengthen the case. "Although most of the girls were sexually harassed, she was his target," she said. Mallikarjun allegedly touched the girl and her friends inappropriately and sexually assaulted them. When CWC members inspected the girls' rooms, they found most of them had no latches.

Though parents lodged several complaints with police, there was no response.

Bangalore Rural SP B Ramesh said Swamy was booked and the girls' statements to the CWC would be added to the case.

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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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