Protesters suspect 'influential hands' behind Panjimogaru double murder

January 20, 2012

Mangalore, January 20: “The unsolved Panjimogaru double murder case creates an impression that some influential people of the region might have involved in this barbarous crime” said Muneer Katipalla, State unit vice-president of Democratic Youth Federation of India.

He was addressing a protest rally organized by the local unit of DYFI on Friday in front of the office of District-in-charge minister Krishna J Palemar located at Mangalore City Corporation building here, in order to exert pressure on the government to hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Dozens of residents of Panjimogaru, where a 35-year-old housewife Razia and her daughter 8-year-old daughter Fatima Zuha were murdered in broad day light on June 28, 2011, took part in the protest displaying black flags against Mr Palemar.

Mr Katipalla said that neither the elected representatives nor the police bothered about the issue. “Not a single elected representative so far visited the family members of the victims to assure them that the culprits will be arrested”, he said.

He also threated to hold protest in front of Chief Minister's office if the police and elected representatives continued to be negligent towards this case.

Local leaders of DYFI Imthiaz B K, Dayanand Shetty, and Anil D'Souza were present among others.

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Mangaluru’s KPT becomes India’s first autonomous govt polytechnic

News Network

January 23,2026

Mangaluru: The Karnataka Government Polytechnic (KPT), Mangaluru, has achieved autonomous status from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), becoming the first government polytechnic in the country to receive such recognition in its 78-year history. The status was granted by AICTE, New Delhi, and subsequently approved by the Karnataka Board of Technical Education in October last year.

Officials said the autonomy was conferred a few months ago. Until recently, AICTE extended autonomous status only to engineering colleges, excluding diploma institutions. However, with a renewed national focus on skill development, several government polytechnics across India have now been granted autonomy.

KPT, the second-largest polytechnic in Karnataka, was established in 1946 with four branches and has since expanded to offer eight diploma programmes, including computer science and polymer technology. The institution is spread across a 19-acre campus.

Ravindra M Keni, the first dean of the institution, told The Times of India that AICTE had proposed autonomous status for polytechnic institutions that are over 25 years old. “Many colleges applied. In the first round, 100 institutions were shortlisted, which was further narrowed down to 15 in the second round. We have already completed one semester after becoming an autonomous institution,” he said. He added that nearly 500 students are admitted annually across eight three-year diploma courses.

Explaining the factors that helped KPT secure autonomy, Keni said the institution has consistently recorded 100 per cent admissions and placements for its graduates. He also noted its strong performance in sports, with the college emerging champions for 12 consecutive years, along with active student participation in NCC and NSS activities.

Autonomous status allows KPT to design industry-oriented curricula, conduct examinations, prepare question papers, and manage academic documentation independently. The institution can also directly collaborate with industries and receive priority funding from AICTE or the Ministry of Education. While academic autonomy has been granted, financial control will continue to rest with the state government.

“There will be separate committees for examinations, question paper setting, boards of studies, and boards of examiners. The institution will now have the freedom to conduct admissions without government notifications and issue its own marks cards,” Keni said, adding that new academic initiatives would be planned after a year of functioning under the autonomous framework.

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