IPS officer Mahapatra challenges appointment of Omprakash as DG & IGP

Bengaluru, Mar 25: Director General of Police (DGP) Sushanth Mahapatra on Tuesday moved the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) challenging the appointment of Omprakash as the State DG&IGP.

A senior counsel said Mahapatra, a 1979-batch IPS officer, had stated in the application that the State government had ignored the compulsory health report of the officers eligible for the post of DG&IGP.

Mahapatra stated that though he was from the 1979 batch, Omprakash, 1980 batch officer, was appointed the DG&IGP. He further stated that the parameters for selection to the post, laid down by the government itself, had been grossly neglected/ violated on certain fronts.

The application quoted the Supreme Court’s directions in its order in the Prakash Singh vs the Union government case.

He said the selection committee lacked independence since Kempaiah, advisor to the home minister, was also part of it. The home minister was the chairperson and the law minister and the chief secretary were members of the committee. With the entry of Kempaiah as a member, the committee’s independence had been compromised, the application stated.

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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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