Rs 600 crore payoffs? Diary seized from Karnataka MLC stirs row

[email protected] (News Network)
February 24, 2017

Bengaluru, Feb 24: Less than a year ago, income tax sleuths conducted a series of raids across Karnataka on politicians who had not filed their I-T returns or those who they suspected had black money.

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The officers were in for a surprise when they discovered a diary with suspicious entries at the residence of Karnataka Congress MLC Govindaraj. The influential legislator, known to be close to top leaders in the ruling party, is also known as a party fund-raiser.

Govindaraj's contacts are not restricted to Karnataka — he is known for his close links to many politicians in New Delhi. He is also the president of Karnataka Olympic Association. Income tax sources told Times Now the diary was allegedly hidden in Govindraj's bedroom.

Times Now has exclusively accessed the I-T file which comprises this diary. The file bears the signature of two witnesses who testified that it was recovered from the Congress legislator's bedroom.

Just like the diaries seized from executives of Sahara and Birla groups, this diary, too, contains initials of individuals, their offices and entities that instantly arouse suspicion that money was collected and paid to them for services. In fact, it clearly mentions the initials of those who have given him the money in one column and in the other, initials of those whom he paid money. The secret diary No. AKG03 speaks of a staggering Rs 600 crore routed to mysterious names like AICC, AP, M Vora, SG office, RG office and DGS. The diary also has an entry under steel bridge from where Rs 65 crore was marked as received. There is one entry which shows Rs 7 crore being paid to media for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike elections. The income tax department had called in Govindraj for questioning about the entries on February 11, 2017.

Govindraj claimed the handwriting isn't his and the signatures were forged. The Congress, too, has claimed the diary is fake and an attempt to malign them, while the BJP has called for a detailed investigation into it.

Only a thorough investigation will provide answers as to who these people are, though some of the initials in the diaries bear striking resemblance to the names and initials in Agusta scam and ex-CBI director's BBM chat.

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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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