Stop misusing NIA to target pro-people activists, SDPI tells govt after arrest of its leaders

News Network
December 22, 2020

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Bengaluru, Dec 22: The Social Democratic Party of India has urged the BJP government to immediately stop the continuous “misuse of NIA and other investigating agencies against the pro-people activists and organizations”.

Addressing a press conference here Afsar Kodlipate, Karnataka State General Secretary, of SDPI accused the government of targeting innocents after a protest against the blasphemous remarks against the Prophet Muhammad took a violent turn in August 2020 in Bengaluru’s D G Halli & K G Halli.

“This violence was used for the political agenda. First the investigation was done by state police and later by the National Investigation Agency. Thousands of men were called for inquiry and more than 180 have been arrested in this case. Under this, the attempt by the central government to get the SDPI party under the direction of political leaders is politically motivated. At one side State Police accuse Congress leaders and its hand in this rioting and on the other side, Central BJP Govt misusing NIA and is been tasked to fix SDPI in this case,” he said.

“Yesterday, SDPI Bengaluru district president Mohammed Sharif and some members were arrested by the NIA. From the beginning, SDPI leaders and its members are regularly visiting the NIA office and giving 100% cooperation in this investigation. 
Mobile phones of our leaders and few of our party offices were also checked. But, they could not find any role of SDPI in this incident. Yet the SDPI is being targeted by the NIA as directed by the BJP leaders,” he said.

He said: “Local people were furious after seeing the blasphemous remarks against the Prophet by Naveen who is a BJP supporter who regularly support’s BJP ideology on the social media. Just because he is a BJP supporter, in spite of him being the mail culprit in this case has been put few simple IPC sections and now he is free on bail. But, where as hundreds of Muslim youths from the locality have been arrested under UAPA sections. Discrimination policies are being followed and bail is been denied just because they belong to Muslim community. Hundreds of families of these innocent youths are miserable & are in distrust.”

“Amidst covid-19 pandemic, SDPI is serving regularly the victims of corona in various ways and was hailed by all religions across the country, has held a series of all-round meetings in the Bangalore city district to continue these services and celebrate upcoming Independence Day in August. However, there is an attempt to create false evidence that these meeting by SDPI was part of the conspiracy to do violence in the DJ halli & KG Halli area which is false narrative.”

“The real perpetrators should be investigated impartially and without discrimination with respect to any party or organization or any religion. The innocent should be released immediately. Black laws such as the UPA should not be abused. We request that investigation officers should not be subjected to any political pressure.”

“We are seeing that BJP government in the name of Bhima Koregaon protests, CAA-NRC protest, the Delhi riots and now in the DJ Halli violence has consistently attacked social activists & political opposition. These kind of false cases should be stopped immediately. Real culprits whoever they are should be booked and arrested, even if they are supporters or leaders of BJP/RSS,” he said.

Abdul Majeed Khan, SDPI State Vice President, Mujahid Pasha, State General Secretary, Akram Hassan and Fayyaz  Bengaluru, SWC members, H M Gangappa, Bengaluru District Vice President and Salim Ahmed, Bengaluru were present at the press meet.

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News Network
December 15,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 15: Air India Express has announced that it will resume direct flight services between Mangaluru and Muscat from March 2026, restoring an important international air link for passengers from the coastal region.

Airport authorities said the service will operate twice a week—on Sundays and Tuesdays—from March 1. The initial flights are scheduled on March 3, 8 and 10, followed by March 15 and 17, with the same operating pattern to continue thereafter. The flight duration is approximately three hours and 25 minutes.

The Mangaluru–Muscat route was earlier operated under the 2025 summer schedule, with services beginning on July 14. At that time, Air India Express had operated four flights a week before suspending the service.

Officials said the summer schedule will come into effect from March 29, after which changes in flight timings and departure schedules from Mangaluru are expected. Passengers have been advised to check the latest schedules while planning their travel.

The resumption of direct flights to Muscat is expected to significantly benefit expatriates, business travellers and others, further strengthening Mangaluru’s air connectivity with the Gulf region.

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News Network
December 7,2025

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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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News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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