Now, Sri Ram Sene member enters and exits Congress in hours

Mangalore, Mar 25: In a Pramod Muthalik-like episode for Congress, an accused in 2009 Mangalore pub attack case who was also former legal adviser to right wing outfit Sri Ram Sene, linked with the infamous incident, today joined the party only to be disowned by it hours later.

Dinakar Shetty, the 28th accused in the case, was among the many from different parties and other individuals who joined Congress at a workers convention here.

But hours later, the district Congress president in-charge Kodicchal Ibrahim issued a one line statement, which citing "some confusion", said that he had not been admitted in the party. "Against the backdrop of some confusion, he has not been admitted in the party," it said.

The Congress' U-turn is almost a replay of BJP admitting controversial chief of Sri Ram Sene, Muthalik, into the party on Sunday and dumping him hours later setting aside his membership following criticism within the party and from its opponents.

Muthalik, who is facing some 45 cases, including those relating to promoting enmity between two communities, blamed the Congress "conspiracy" for stalling his entry into BJP.

A red-faced BJP central leadership had set aside the membership of Muthalik, linked with the attack by his outfit activists on women in a Mangalore pub in 2009 that had sparked national outrage. Muthalik said he was hurt by BJP's "hasty" decision setting aside his membership.

Activists of Sri Ram Sene, notorious for moral policing, had barged into a pub in Mangalore and assaulted youngsters - women and men - after accusing them of behaving in an "obscene manner".

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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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