‘Hacking Muslim FB account, posting pro-Pak slogan and protest by BJP were pre-planned’

News Network

March 6, 2019

Belagavi, Mar 6: Posting pro-Pakistan slogans Facebook wall of a Muslim man after hacking his account and subsequent protests by BJP and right-wing outfits in Ramdurg town were pre-planned according to former Ramdurg MLA Ashok Pattan.

On Sunday night, police arrested Nagaraj Mali for hacking the Facebook account of Pattan’s supporter Mohammad Shafi Benne and posting pro-Pakistan slogans on Friday. Before the arrest, BJP staged a massive protest in Ramdurg on Saturday and MP Suresh Angadi at SP’s office on Sunday demanding Shafi’s arrest.

Addressing media persons here on Tuesday, senior Congressman Pattan alleged that it was a conspiracy to defame him. How did over 500 workers gather within a few minutes of the Facebook post and shout slogans against him and Shafi, he asked.

Pattan alleged that BJP MLA Mahadevappa Yadawad and his workers had caused a communal disturbance in Ramdurg on Saturday and urged police to take action against them. He said he and Benne would file separate complaints against the MLA and other workers who called them anti-nationals. “My father and mother were freedom fighters. I don’t need to take lessons of patriotism from BJP leaders,” he said.

Ashok Pattan said following his initiative, a 78-foot statue of Lord Shiva on the outskirts of Ramdurg town was inaugurated last year. It’s the second tallest in Karnataka after the one at Murudeshwar and the place is gradually growing as a tourist spot. Last year, over 1 lakh people visited the spot and this had irked his opponents.

Pattan said the statue is Shafi’s brainchild and he manages the arrangements at the spot during Shivaratri. “My opponents targeted Shafi and me to ruin Shivaratri celebrations,” he said.

Former Belagavi MLA Firoz Sait said it was an old trick of the BJP to raise communal issues during elections. Police should look into the motive for such actions. District Congress (rural) president Vinay Navalagatti and city block president Raju Sait were also present at the press meet.

Also Read: Nagaraj arrested for hacking his Muslim friend’s FB account, posting pro-Pak messages

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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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