Sasikala holds regular durbar in jail, Roopa says in report

DHNS
July 16, 2017

Bengaluru, Jul 16: V K Sasikala, the convicted Tamil Nadu politician, enjoys the services of a cook inside her cell on the first floor, sources said, quoting a report submitted by DIG (Prisons) D Roopa.

Sasikala

The jail staff have also given her a special room with a table and chair. Four chairs for visitors facilitate regular “office-like” meetings with Sasikala, the report purportedly says.

Sasikala’s “office” is located next to the office of a female jail superintendent in charge of women’s barracks. Roopa learnt about the arrangement from a staffer, after which she inspected the spot and prepared the report which she later submitted to the state police chief Rupak Kumar Dutta, the Home Secretary, the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) and her immediate boss, the DGP (Prisons) H S Sathyanarayana Rao.

Her enquiries revealed that prison staff let in more visitors than allowed in the manual. Rules about duration and frequency of visits were also violated. Other VIP prisoners have been provided similar facilities.

The report says two senior officials, attached to the Bengaluru and Belagavi prisons, had prodded inmates into protesting against her after she exposed jail irregularities. She has sought stringent action against them.

Footage vanished?

Roopa suspects systematic efforts to destroy evidence of irregularities at the Parappana Agrahara jail.

Her second report purportedly says CCTV installed at the barracks had been deliberately rendered dysfunctional. The CCTV cameras do not cover visitor rooms with cameras 7 and 8 remaining broken, a source quoted her report as saying. A significant amount of ‘select’ footage has also been deleted from the DVR at the headquarters of the Prisons Department.

The prison authorities have deleted crucial footage that could have proved her charges. She had used a video camera from the department to record the statements of inmates on June 28 and July 10, and entered the details in the prison dairy, but much of it has vanished, the report indicates.

Roopa had lunch with the inmates and even shared her phone number with them when she came to know of irregularities inside the prison. The report says she had asked a jail employee to send her the footage.

When nothing came, an enraged Roopa questioned the staffer, who said her seniors had prevented them from handing over the footage to her. When she persisted, she was given a pen drive with nothing significant.

The report purportedly says Roopa then came to know the footage had been deleted at the behest of her seniors.

Footage covering the barracks and visitor areas have been erased, the report complains.

Comments

wellwisher
 - 
Monday, 17 Jul 2017

Mr Shettar , state chief minister comments his just to understand our blind fold bjp criminal mind leaders that a hindu never play communal mind politics and game for his personal sake. He always work for his mother lands development and for citizens better future. There is no criminal game like bjp leaders.

Please try to understand the meaning i/o of teasing.

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News Network
December 15,2025

Mangaluru police have arrested a 27-year-old NRI on his return from Saudi Arabia in connection with an Instagram post allegedly containing derogatory and provocative remarks about the Hindu religion, officials said on Monday.

The accused, Abdul Khader Nehad, a resident of Ulaibettu in Mangaluru, was working in Saudi Arabia when the post was uploaded, police said.

A suo motu case was registered at the Bajpe police station on October 11 after an allegedly offensive post circulated from the Instagram account ‘team_sdpi_2025’. Police said the content was flagged for being provocative and derogatory in nature.

During the investigation, technical analysis traced the Instagram post to Nehad, who was residing abroad at the time, a senior police officer said. Based on these findings, a Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued against him.

On December 14, Nehad arrived from Saudi Arabia at Calicut International Airport in Kerala, where he was taken into custody on arrival. Police said further investigation is underway.

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News Network
December 7,2025

SHRIMP.jpg

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 16,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 16: The Mangaluru City police have significantly escalated their campaign against drug trafficking, arresting 25 individuals and booking 12 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act between November 30 and December 13. The crackdown resulted in the seizure of a substantial quantity of illicit substances, including 685.6 grams of MDMA and 1.5 kg of ganja.

The success of this recent drive has been significantly boosted by the city’s innovative, QR code-based anonymous reporting system.

"The anonymous reporting system has received an encouraging response. Several recent arrests were made based on inputs received through this system, helping police tighten the noose around drug peddlers," said the City Police Commissioner.

The latest arrests contribute to a robust year-to-date record, underscoring the police's relentless commitment to combating the drug menace.

Up to December 14 this year, the police have registered a total of 107 cases of drug peddling, leading to the arrest of 219 peddlers. Furthermore, they have booked 562 cases of drug consumption, resulting in the arrest of 671 individuals.

The scale of the seizure for the year reflects the magnitude of the problem being tackled: police have seized 320.6 kg of ganja worth ₹88.7 lakh and 1.4 kg of MDMA valued at ₹1.2 crore. Other significant seizures include hydro-weed ganja worth ₹94.7 lakh and cocaine worth ₹1.9 lakh, among others.

The Commissioner emphasized a policy of rigorous enforcement: "We ensure that peddlers are caught red-handed so that they cannot later dispute the case or claim innocence."

To counter the rising trend of substance abuse among youth, the Mangaluru City police have rolled out uniform guidelines for random drug testing across educational institutions.

As part of the drive, tests were conducted in approximately 100 institutions, screening an estimated 5,500 to 6,000 students in the first phase. 20 students tested positive for drug consumption during the initial screening.

Students who tested positive have been provided counselling and are scheduled for re-testing in the second quarter. The testing will also be expanded to students not covered in the first phase. In a move to ensure strict implementation, police personnel were deployed in mufti in some institutions. Reiterating a zero-tolerance stance, the Commissioner confirmed that random testing will continue, and colleges have also been instructed to conduct drug tests at the time of admission to deter substance abuse from an early stage.

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