Arrested Bhatkal youth not involved in Bengaluru blast, clarifies cop

January 12, 2015

Bhatkal, Jan 12: For the second time after the arrests of four Bhatkal-based youth on terror charges, Bengaluru police commissioner M N Reddi has openly clarified that none of the arrested had any connection with Bengaluru Church Street blast case, even as the media giants continued to link them with the December 28 explosion.

Responding to a query of media persons on Monday Mr Reddi reiterated that there was nothing so far to link the arrested persons with the December 28 Bengaluru blast that claimed the life of a woman, and injured three.

However, he said that the police œsuspect that the arrested were part of a terror module that was used to procure, fabricate and deliver deadly explosives.

He also claimed that they transferred money through Hawala channels for funding and at least one of them attended meetings in a foreign country, where a conspiracy was hatched to manufacture and deliver deadly explosives, he said.

"I would say that a picture is emerging based on the œinterrogation that we have done. This was a module that was used by the IM as well as the other terrorist organisations to procure, fabricate, supply and deliver deadly explosives," said Mr Reddi.

Bengaluru Police last Thursday had claimed that they unearthed a terror module of IM with the arrest of its three youth. They also claimed that they seized a huge cache of explosives during a raid in Bhatkal. The fourth person was arrested on Sunday at Mangaluru international airport before flying to Dubai.

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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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