Mangalore, Udupi Shootouts: City police arrest seven including four aids of underworld don

August 25, 2011

Mangalore, August 25: Seven people, including four associates of underworld don Bannanje Raja were arrested by the city police in connection with Kadri and Udupi shootouts.

Mangalore City Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh gave the names of the accused as Devudas Shetty (44) of Kottara Chowki, Neeraj Shrivastav (25) alias Manish Kumar alias Rahul of Gorakhpur of Uttar Pradesh, Ali Hussain (22) of Gorakhpur and Vinod Kulal (29) of Jalligudde.

Acting on a credible information a Police team led by Inspector Vinay Gaunkar raided a secret dwelling in Kottara Chouki here on Thursday at 11: 00 am and arrested the above four persons. A pistol, one revolver, six cartridges, a car and mobile phones worth Rs 4.5 lakhs have been confiscated from the accused. They are said to be involved in both the shootouts.

Three others of the gang namely Amith Chaurasia (27) of Chapra, Bihar, Rehaj Khan (41) and an associate of Bannanje Raja, Puttaswamy (44) of Mysore were also arrested in a separate operation.

They had reportedly arrived in Mangalore to sell a pistol. One pistol with five rounds and an Indica car were seized from their possession.

The accused are facing attempts to murder charges. On the eve of May 26, 2011 two of the associates of the Bannanje Raja had allegedly attempted to murder Suresh Bhandari, proprietor of Prithvi developers near Kadri here. On August 19, armed men had attacked Irodi Jewellers in Udupi, firing three rounds at the cashier and security guard.

Mr Singh revealed that Uttar Pradesh Special Task force, State Intelligence and Mangalore police were jointly involved in the operation.

He also said that the confiscated weapons were country made and originated from Sivan in Bihar.

Police were pursuing Javed alias Vijay who is said to be involved in the extortion racket. Police also has information about the motorbikes used in the two attempts and the locals involved in the racket.

'No Drug Mafia'

Responding to a question Mr Singh denied the presence of any 'drug mafia' in Mangalore.

However he said that the police have arrested some peddlers and gathered information about a few students involving in illegal activities. “We are making a college-wise list and will approach the racket in a different way,” he said.

Double murder case

Speaking about the double murder case of Panjimogeru, he said the case was very sensitive and police were making considerable progress in the case.

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RuTAGe smart village centres in DK, Udupi to being technology closer to rural communities

News Network

January 20,2026

Mangaluru: In a major step towards strengthening rural innovation, the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India is supporting the establishment of RuTAGe Smart Village Centres (RSVCs) across the country through collaborations with academic institutions, civil society organisations and philanthropic partners.

As part of this national initiative, Nitte (Deemed to be University) will set up the first RSVCs in the region at Nitte GP in Udupi district and at the Nitte Health Centre, Sevanjali Trust, Farangipete, in Dakshina Kannada district. The centres will be inaugurated on January 21. In South India, the programme is being implemented by the Section Infin-8 Foundation (SI-8).

Speaking to reporters on Monday, SI-8 founder-director Vishwas US said experts from Nitte University and SI-8 would work closely with farmers, students, youth and local entrepreneurs to adapt and deploy technologies tailored to local needs.

Project head Prof Iddya Karunasagar, representing Nitte DU, said the RSVCs at Nitte and Farangipete would serve as demonstration hubs for a wide range of agriculture, energy, skill-development and assistive technologies. These include solar dryers for fruits, vegetables and crops; soil-testing solutions; power weeders and women-friendly farm tools; wind-powered devices for rural artisans; grain storage systems; grass-cutting and tree-climbing equipment; and liquid fertiliser production using cowshed waste.

SI-8 CEO Aravind C Kumar said the centres would also provide access to digital and knowledge-based platforms such as ISRO applications, government scheme portals, market linkage tools and gamified learning resources, along with assistive technologies for persons with visual impairments.

Highlighting the broader impact of the initiative, Principal Scientific Adviser Prof Ajay Kumar Sood said it demonstrated how applied research could bridge the rural–urban divide and help create self-reliant, technology-enabled villages.

The initiative has been made possible through philanthropic support from Dr NC Murthy of ACM Business Solutions, LLC, USA. Dr Sapna Poti, Director (Strategic Alliances) at the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, said the long-term objective is to build self-sufficient, technology-driven communities capable of generating sustainable livelihoods on their own.

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