IGP-led team to probe Sharif murder case

July 2, 2014

Kasargod, Jul 2: Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Tuesday said that the Kannur Inspector General of Police (IGP) would lead the investigation in the murder case of leftist activist Abdul Sharif who was stabbed to death two days ago.

In response to MLA James Matthew raising a motion in the Legislative Assembly to suspend the assembly session alleging that BJP activists had committed the murder, the home minister said that the preliminary investigation revealed that the murder was a non-politically motivated one.

He said that two political party activists had been murdered in the district in a week. Both murders had been done for petty reasons and revenge was likely to be the motive, he said.

He said that the IGP had been directed to ascertain whether sand mafia was behind the murders, adding that the government would take stern measures to curb this.

Following the home minister 's response, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly G Karthikeyan denied opportunity to the opposition members for discussing the issue further.

Retaliating to the denial, the opposition party members walked out of the assembly session.

Also Read: BJP worker held for stabbing CPIM activist Sharif to death

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