Cattle theft: Owner of stolen cattle too arrested on assault charge

August 22, 2013

Puttur, Aug 22: A day after seven cattle thieves, allegedly belonging to a Hindutva outfit, were caught red-handed by the residents of Savanoor near here, police on Thursday arrested the owner of the stolen cows, thanks to the counter-complaint lodged by one of the alleged thieves.

Usman, whose cows were stolen allegedly by Bajrang Dal activists, was arrested after Sundara Poojary, the driver of the pick-up van that was transporting the cattle, lodged a complaint at jurisdictional Kadaba police station accusing the former of assaulting him and others onboard the waylaid vehicle.

However, Usman was released on bail after he was produced before a local court hours after the arrest.

On Wednesday night police had arrested seven alleged cattle thieves identified as Eshwar, Karunakara, Dinesha, Narayana, Sundara Poojary, Santosha and Shafi after the pick-up van in which they were transporting cattle were waylaid by the mob at around 7:30 p.m. at Savanoor.

Subsequently, all the seven alleged thieves were released on bail. Soon after the release, one of them lodged a counter complaint against Usman, who had lodged complaint against them for stealing cows.

According to local residents, at least six of the arrested cattle traffickers are Bajrang Dal activists. However, a Bajrand Dal leader has said that none of the arrested belonged to their organisation. “They might be the activists of Congress party but not Bajrang Dal,” he said.

It was confirmed that the cattle that were being transported on board pick-up vehicle, belonged to Usman, and the thieves had been transporting them to Kerala from a 'Go Pratishsthana Kendra' run by Hindutva outfits in Savanoor.

Cattle belonging to Usman were stolen by thieves a few days ago. It is believed that the thieves had kept stolen cattle at 'Go Pratishsthana Kendra' for two days.

The police said the group confessed to taking the cattle from the field, with the intention of “protecting” the cattle in a nearby goshala in Puttur.

“The seven men arrested are Usman's neighbours, who say they were fed up with Usman letting his cattle graze on their fields. So, after several warnings, they decided to take the cattle to the goshala to teach them a lesson… because of this, we have not invoked the Cow Slaughter Act against them, instead booking them only for cattle theft,” said Superintendent of Police Abhishek Goyal.

Responding to allegations that the arrested belonged to a Hindutva organisation, Bajrang Dal, which had called for a press conference in Puttur on Thursday, denied that the arrested men belonged to their group.

Also Read: Cattle theft racket: Thieves caught red-handed, finally

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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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