Dubai-based Kerala man hatched dacoity plot in Karnataka: Police

[email protected] (CD Network)
August 2, 2015

Kasaragod, Jul Aug 2: Police investigating into a decoity case in Karnataka have unearthed an international network of decoits. Nearly six months after a gang of dacoits robbed a Kerala-based merchant of his jeep along with a cash of Rs 6 lakh on the national highway near Bilikere in Hunsur taluk in the district, the Mysuru district police have succeeded in cracking the case.

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Interestingly, the case leads to the kingpin in?Dubai, who hired a gang of dacoits in Bengaluru to execute the task on February 9.

Disclosing this to media at his office auditorium on Saturday, Mysuru district Superintendent of Police Abhinav Khare said the three accused in the case — Umar, aged 31 years, Yasar?Araffat, 30 and Saifuddin, 28, all from Malappuram,?in Kerala — have been arrested. The kingpin is in Dubai, while three other accused are in?Bengaluru, he added.

Reacting to media queries, he said, “As the investigation is still underway, I cannot disclose the name of the kingpin. It was this man in Dubai, who got wind of huge cash being transported from Bengaluru to Kerala on that day, and handed over the job to a local gang in Bengaluru”.

Umar was the driver of the same jeep that was waylaid and lifted later, who actually leaked the information (of money in the vehicle) to the man in Dubai, the SP said.

On February 9, after midnight, Mohammed Shafiq a merchant, also from Malappuram, along with others, was returning to his native from Bengaluru, when the vehicle was waylaid in a filmy style.?A?goods tempo rammed into their vehicle from behind, while an?Innova car came across, only to force stop the jeep.

Much before Shafiq could understand what was happening, the gang of dacoits, suspected to be 10 members, broke the window glasses, sprayed chilli powder on the occupants and attacked them, before pulling them out of the jeep. They, later, made away with the four-wheeler, along with the cash and cellphones. So, Shafiq had lodged a complaint at Bilikere station.

A team, led by Assistant SP (Nanjangud sub-division)?A?Prakash Nikam, comprising Hunsur Circle Police Inspector M?Dharmendra, district crime investigation bureau (DCIB)?Inspector Gopalkrishna among others, was constituted.

Among the three arrested, two were informants, while the actual perpetrators, who carried out the operation remain to be arrested. An amount ot Rs 3.25 lakh has been recovered from them.

The SP said Shafiq could be a gold merchant who was carrying the amount after disposing the valuables in his possession, at Bengaluru. However, he has produced relevant documents, while the chances of more cash being carried at the time of the incident cannot be ruled out, he?said.

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News Network
December 3,2025

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Mangaluru, Dec 3: A group of Congress workers gathered at the Mangaluru International Airport on Wednesday to welcome AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, but the reception quickly turned into a display of support for Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.

Venugopal arrived in the city to participate in the centenary commemoration of the historic dialogue between Mahatma Gandhi and Narayana Guru. The event, organised by the Sivagiri Mutt, Varkala, in association with the Mangalore University Sri Narayana Guru Study Chair, is being held on the university’s Konaje campus.

KPCC general secretary Mithun Rai and several party workers had assembled at the airport to receive Venugopal. However, the moment he stepped out, workers began raising slogans backing Shivakumar.

The university programme will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

This show of support comes just a day after Siddaramaiah remarked that Shivakumar would lead the government “when the high command decides.” The chief minister made the comment after a breakfast meeting at Shivakumar’s residence—another public display of camaraderie between the two leaders amid ongoing attempts by the party high command to downplay their leadership rivalry.

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News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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News Network
December 7,2025

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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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