If murders of Gauri, Kalburgi, other activists linked single agency should probe: SC

News Network

December 12, 2018

New Delhi, Dec 12: If there is a “common thread” among the murders of social activists Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, journalist Gauri Lankesh and rationalist M M Kalburgi, then one agency can investigate all the four cases, according to the Supreme Court of India.

A bench of Justices U U Lalit and Navin Sinha sought response from CBI, which is already probing the murder of social activist Narendra Dabholkar, on whether it had come across any common link among all four cases so that a decision could be taken to hand over all these cases to the agency.

Karnataka police in its status report said there appeared to be an “intimate connection” between the murders of Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh.

“There are two school of thoughts. First is that all these murders are unconnected then the police can investigate them separately and secondly if prima facie it appears that there is a common thread among all cases, then in the fitness of things the investigation should be done by one single agency,” the bench said.

The court was hearing a plea of Kalburgi’s wife Umadevi Mallinath Kalburgi seeking court-monitored SIT probe in the case. Former vicechancellor of Hampi University, M M Kalburgi, was shot dead at his Bengaluru residence in August 2013.

Umadevi alleged in her petition that there was a link between the murder of her husband and that of activists Narendra Dabholkar and Govindrao Pansare. Questioning the ongoing probe by state police, she pleaded that investigation be handed over to a special team.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

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.

Comments