Celebrity perfumer murder: 21-year-old man held in Bengaluru

October 10, 2016

Panaji, Oct 9: Four days after perfume specialist Monica Ghurde was found murdered in her flat near Panaji, Goa Police tracked down the alleged killer, a 21-year-old man, and arrested him from a hotel in Bengaluru on Sunday, a top official said.

monika
Rajkumar Singh, who hails from Punjab, was a security guard in Panaji and had worked in a building complex where Ghurde stayed earlier. “The accused was arrested from Bengaluru, where he had checked into a hotel after committing the crime,” Deputy Inspector General of Police Vimal Gupta told reporters.

Ghurde was found strangled to death in her three-bedroom rented apartment in Sangolda village near here. The 39-year-old's naked body was recovered on October 6 but investigation revealed she was killed a day earlier. The fashion designer-turned-perfumer had been living alone in the flat since July last. Gupta said police lodged a murder case after her estranged husband Bharat Ramamrutam filed a complaint with Saligao Police Station. After the murder came to light, police swung into action and formed multiple teams, which were dispatched to neighbouring states to gather clues and crack the case which received wide coverage in the media.

Singh had stolen two ATM cards of Ghurde besides her mobile phone, and transactions made through them helped the police to track him, he said. “Keeping in mind the background of the deceased, we were working on different aspects. We had also considered her social life. We adopted non-traditional methods to solve the case,” the IPS officer said. Gupta said besides the local police, Goa Crime Branch was also roped in to crack the case.

Singh, originally a native of Bhatinda in Punjab, became the main suspect after he withdrew cash from an ATM machine in Porvorim, just 5 km from the scene of the crime, on the morning of October 6. Police procured CCTV footage from the ATM booth and identified him with the help of a photo available with them in a tenant verification form submitted to Porvorim Police. The accused had worked as a security guard in a building complex where Ghurde stayed earlier, and was fired from the job following complaints by several residents.

Gupta said Singh had withdrawn money using ATM cards several times at different locations, including Bengaluru. “He had withdrawn more than Rs 1 lakh using both the ATM cards which belonged to Monica,” the DIG said. A team of Goa Police, with help from their Bengaluru counterparts, zeroed in on Singh, who had checked in around midnight last night in the hotel, he said. He was formally placed under arrest on Sunday. Gupta said the motive behind the murder would be known only after interrogation of the accused, who will be brought to Goa on Monday.

Also Read: Celebrity perfumer murdered in Goa home; body found naked and tied to bed

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December 20,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 20: The Mangaluru City Police have issued a detailed traffic advisory ahead of the inaugural ceremony of Karavali Utsava, which will be held at the Karavali Utsava Ground on Saturday.

The festival will be inaugurated at 6:00 pm by Dakshina Kannada District Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao. Cultural and public programmes will be held at the venue every evening and will continue until January 2.

According to City Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy, parking of vehicles is strictly prohibited on both sides of the road from Lalbagh to Karavali Utsava Ground. Visitors are requested to park their vehicles only at designated parking areas.

To help the public, traffic signboards and parking guidance flex boards have been installed along the routes leading to the venue. The police have urged commuters and visitors to follow these instructions to ensure smooth traffic movement.

Designated Parking Locations

•    Urwa Market Ground – Cars
•    Gandhinagar Government School (near Press Club) – Two-wheelers and cars
•    Ladyhill Church parking area – Two-wheelers and cars
•    Canara School Ground, Mannagudda – Two-wheelers and cars
•    Thimmappa Hotel premises – Two-wheelers and cars
•    Scout and Guide Bhavana premises (behind Karavali Utsava Grounds) – Two-wheelers
•    Urwa Market Road – Two-wheelers
•    Hat Hill Road – Two-wheelers

The police have appealed to the public to cooperate by following traffic rules and parking guidelines to avoid inconvenience during the festival.

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News Network
December 7,2025

SHRIMP.jpg

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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December 19,2025

Mangaluru: The Mangaluru CEN police have arrested a 23-year-old man for allegedly posting provocative and misleading content on an Instagram page named “mr_a_titude”, targeting the Bajpe police.

Mangaluru Commissioner of Police Sudheer Kumar Reddy C H identified the arrested as Abhishek M, a resident of Katipalla in Mangaluru.

A case has been registered at the Bajpe Police Station under Sections 353(1)(c), 353(2), 56, and 57 read with Section 189 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in connection with the post.

According to police, the accused uploaded a photograph of a hotel on the Instagram page and alleged that accused persons in a murder case under the Bajpe police jurisdiction were being given “royal treatment” by the police, including being served beef meals daily from the hotel.

The post further accused the police of supporting criminals, misusing their authority, and betraying public trust. Police said the content was provocative in nature and aimed at inciting public outrage against the police.

Following the post, a case was registered at the Bajpe police station, and further investigation was transferred to the CEN police station.

Police records indicate that the accused has a criminal history, with multiple cases registered against him, including murder, attempt to murder, assault, and robbery at the Surathkal Police Station, and one case at the Kaup Police Station.

The Commissioner said the accused was traced and arrested using technical evidence.

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