Inter-caste marriage: Couple stoned to death on their return to village in Karnataka

News Network

November 8, 2019

Bengaluru, Nov 8: In an apparent case of honour killing, a Dalit man and his wife, who married against wishes of the woman's family, were allegedly stoned to death when they returned to their village in Gadag district in Karnataka, four years after fleeing it, police said on Thursday.

According to police, Ramesh Madar and Gangamma had married Gangamma, belonging to the Lambani community, disregarding the opposition from her family members four years ago.

Fearing backlash from the family, they had fled their village Lakkalakatti near Gajendragad town and migrated to various places in Karnataka and worked as labourers.

On Wednesday they returned to their village. Spotting them on a road, some people from the Lambani community attacked the couple and later stoned them to death, police said. "Our investigations are on. There's a progress in the case, which we cannot disclose at this point," said a police officer at the Gajendragad police station. The couple had two children.

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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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