Young activist hacked to death for alerting cops on illegal sand mining

Sakleshpur (Hassan district), Jul 20: A youth was hacked to death on Monday night at Nidigere village in Sakleshpur taluk for informing police about illegal sand mining in Hemavathi waters.

Police have arrested four persons in connection with the murder and registered cases against 15 people, including former zilla panchayat member D C Sannaswamy.

The victim, identified as Ajay Sakbal (27), a resident of the village, had informed the police control room about illegal sand mining and the presence of excavators and lorries on the river basin.

Arun Sakbal, the victim's elder brother in a complaint to the police, has stated that a 15-member gang intercepted Ajay's vehicle and attacked him with lethal weapons, killing him on the spot.

Members of various dalit organisations blocked the Bengaluru-Mangaluru highway demanding CID probe into the murder.

They also sought a CBI probe into illegal sand mining in the taluk.

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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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