Mangalore police nab two more aides of Ravi Pujari, foil plot to kill realtors

June 21, 2014

Mangalore, Jun 21: Taking advantage of internal feud between terrorist Ravi Pujari and his former right-hand Kali Yogish, Mangalore city police have continued crackdown on anti-national elements.

Four days after nabbing Mohammed Haneef alias Ali at Ullal Railway Station, the CCB police on Saturday managed to arrest two more anti-nationals identified as Subrahmanya (27) and Kiran (30) at Permude Kuntapadavu near Bajpe on the outskirts of the city.

Three country made pistols — one of 7.62mm calibre and two of 7.65mm calibre with 17 live rounds, a cash amount of Rs 1.5 lakh, and two cell phones have been recovered from the accused.

Informing the media persons about the arrest of two aides of fugitive Pujari, Mangalore City Police Commissioner R Hithendra said that cops managed to thwart murder plots against two city-based realtors.

He said that the fresh arrests have thwarted the plans of underworld dons to extort money from realtors in Mangalore.

Subrahmanya, who originally hails from Bagepalli village in Srinivasapura taluk of Kolar, Kiran is a resident of Urwa Modern Rice Mills, Marigudi in the city. Subrahmanya currently is a resident of Kuntapadavu. Of the two, Subrahmanya is an accused of murdering advocate Naushad Kashimji in 2009 and was in judicial custody. He was later arrested with Rs 1 lakh after carrying out an extortion bid with his associate Tharanath Kulal in 2011.

While the last mentioned case was registered in Mangalore North police station, Hithendra said he was also wanted in a case to attempt a Mulki based businessman who failed to heed to their extortion related demands. Subsequently, he also plotted to kill Bejai Raja, a known adversary of Ravi Pujari arranging for finances and logistics. In judicial custody for the last two-years, Subrahmanya had been released on bail just three weeks ago.

Kiran on the other hand is an accused in an attempt to murder case registered in Mangalore North Police Station of Nagesh Poojary near PVS junction in 2011. Later in 2012, Kiran along with other accused allegedly killed Bejai Raja near Unity Hospital under Mangalore East police station limits. Kiran was enlarged on bail in this case around eight months back, Hithendra said, adding the duo back to their devious ways are now in police net.

Asserting that it is not just Ravi Pujari that is on the radars of city police, Hithendra said the police unit is determined to go after the underworld in a concerted manner. "There are four to five other groups who are trying to stage their dominance over the city," Hithendra said, adding the police will take a call on slapping Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act against the accused based on how the investigations in to the case proceed.

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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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