Land grab: FIR against Siddaramaiah and three others

DHNS

June 24, 2018

Mysuru, Jun 24: The Lakshmipuram Police on Saturday registered an FIR against former chief minister Siddaramaiah and three others in connection with a land grabbing case.

The police registered the FIR, following the direction from Principal Senior Civil Judge to register cases under the IPC Sections 120B, 197, 166, 167, 169, 200, 417, 409, 420 and 468 in the land grab case against Siddaramaiah, Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) former chairman C Basavegowda, present chairman D Dhruvakumar and MUDA commissioner P S Kantaraju.

The court has directed the police to reigster an FIR based on an application submitted by advocate N Gangaraju to the Governor in May 2018, seeking permission for prosecution of Siddaramaiah. The Governor’s office cleared it saying permission is not required for prosecution.

City Improvement Trust Board (CITB), the earlier form of MUDA, had acquired 535 acres under Hinkal Gram Panchayat to develop a layout in Vijayanagar II Stage in 1981. In 1997, after the completion of the site distribution process, then GP president Papanna, his relatives Sakamma, Annaiah and Sunanda had applied to the MUDA to de-notify 30 guntas of the land, which was acquired from them. Accordingly, MUDA de-notified the land. The process was completed within 20 days, when Basavegowda was serving as MUDA chairman.

Later, Siddaramaiah, when he was deputy chief minister in the J H Patel government, purchased 10 guntas of the land belonging to Annaiah and constructed a house on land measuring 120X75 ft in dimension. The MUDA issued a ‘No Objection Certificate’ (NOC) and also approved the house plan. In 2013, Siddaramaiah sold the house.

In December 2017, Krishna, son of Annaiah, applied to the MUDA for a 60X 40 site as an alternative for his land. The MUDA approved a site illegally, even though his land, then owned by his father, had been de-notified. Thus the court directed filing of a case against Dhruvakumar and commissioner Kantharaju too.

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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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