Kerala comedian Innocent becomes giant killer

May 18, 2014

Chalakudy (Kerala), May 18: He may have made millions laugh with his antics on the silver screen, but on Friday it was Innocent's turn to himself put on a smile.

The actor-turned-political giant killer, who contested as a Left-backed Independent from the Chalakudy constituency in Kerala, beat Congress strongman PC Chacko by 13,884 votes, making it one of the biggest surprises in Kerala's election history.

The 69-year-old filmstar is also the president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes.

In a career spanning four decades, Innocent has acted in more than 500 films.

Eyebrows were first raised and many were wonderstruck when the Communist Party of India (Marxist) decided to field and back him as an Independent for the 2014 Lok Sabha election.

But Innocent's campaign turned for the better when crowds started coming in large numbers to see him, and more importantly to hear him crack jokes.

This public curiosity later fuelled a serious following, which paid Innocent dividends in the electronic voting machines.

On the other hand, the Congress was not low on morale having fielded Chacko, who had managed to swap his traditional seat of Thrissur with his party colleague K Dhanapalan, who last time won from here.

But so confident was Innocent that even after a leading national TV channel in an exit poll predicted the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) would win 18 seats and the Left a mere two seats, the actor boldly proclaimed at a public meeting that one of the two seats which would go the Left would be Chalakudy.

Unfortunately, the opinion poll did not hold true. The LDF went on to win eight seats and the UDF won 12.

Dressed in a trademark "jubba", a kurta-like attire, Innocent mostly stayed indoors keeping track of the counting process. But when victory was obvious, he modestly told reporters: "I owe this victory to the CPM and to the people."

"The CPM is a strong outfit and all of them worked for me, so did others. Moreover, I think I could strike an instant attachment with the people because all of them have seen me in films. Now, I will work for the betterment of all the people and do my best," he said.

After the result was announced, he offered prayers at his father's grave.

Meanwhile, losing candidate Chacko sportingly termed Innocent's victory as a "colourful" one.

"His personal charisma did the trick," said Chacko.

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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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Think Before You Post! Mangaluru Police Crack Down on Provocative Instagram Accounts

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December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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