Now, Christian school vandalized in Delhi

February 13, 2015

New Delhi, Feb 13: An unidentified group Friday ransacked a Christian school here, police said.

Staff members of the Holy Child Auxilium school in south Delhi's Vasant Vihar told police that a few CCTV cameras installed in the school premises were damaged and the office of the principal was ransacked.

Holy Child Auxilium school
"Some CCTV cameras were damaged and the office of the school principal was ransacked by some unidentified people early Friday," Delhi Catholic Archdiocese spokesperson Father Savarimuthu Sankar said.

Sankar said school children have been sent back to their homes after the incident came to light.

Leaders of the Christian community said some members of a group have been intentionally targeting the community and this is the sixth such attack within 11 weeks.

Sankar claimed that the attack sent a clear message that a group is trying to "fill fear" among the Christian community.

He said that five churches have been attacked since December 2014 and this is the sixth such attack.

"We see a clear pattern in all the attacks. Earlier we thought that these attacks have a connection with the Delhi polls," said Sankar.

"Now it has been clear that this is a handiwork of some fundamentalist group whose motive is to fill fear among the Christian community," Sankar said.

Father Mahew Koyickal said: "The intention of the attackers is to unnerve the Christian community. Since December, five churches have been targeted on regular interval. We demanded that the case should be investigated from all angles," he said.

Few items and a DVD player have also been stolen from St. Alphonsa's church in south Delhi's Vasant Kunj Feb 2.

Three people have been arrested Jan 15, a day after a church in west Delhi was vandalised.

Earlier in January, a minor fire was reported from a church in Rohini, west Delhi. The Christmas crib outside was charred.

Some unidentified people threw stones at Our Lady of Fatima Forane Church at Jasola in south Delhi in December and broke window panes.

St. Sebastian's Church, a Catholic church at Dilshad Garden in east Delhi, was torched in December. Police confirmed it was a case of arson.

According to the 2011 Census report, the number of Christians was around 130,000 in Delhi, home to about 17 million. The Christian population in India is 24 million among the total of 1.2 billion.

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News Network
December 2,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 2: Mangaluru International Airport responded to a medical emergency late on Monday night. Air India Express flight IX 522, travelling from Riyadh to Thiruvananthapuram, was diverted to Mangaluru Airport after a passenger in his late 30s experienced a medical emergency on board.

The Airport’s Operations Control Centre received an alert regarding the passenger’s health condition. The airport activated its emergency response protocol, mobilising the airport medical team and coordinating with stakeholders including CISF, immigration, and customs. 

Upon landing, airport medical personnel attended to the passenger, assessed his condition, and arranged to shift him to a local tertiary-care hospital for further treatment. The passenger’s relatives accompanied the passenger, who incidentally received necessary medical care on board, which helped stabilise the situation.

Following the handling of the emergency, the flight departed for Thiruvananthapuram at 2:05 am on Tuesday.

"We appreciate the cooperation of all parties involved, and this incident reaffirms our ongoing commitment to prioritising passenger safety and readiness to respond to unforeseen emergencies with professionalism and care," the Airport spokesperson said. 

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News Network
December 4,2025

Udupi: A 40-year-old NRI from Udupi has reportedly lost more than Rs 12.25 lakh in an online investment scam operated through Telegram.

According to a complaint filed at the CEN police station, Leo Jerome Mendonsa, who has been working in Dubai for the past 15 years in computer accessories sales, maintains NRI accounts in Karkala and Nitte.

On November 12, 2025, Mendonsa was added to a Telegram group called Instaflow Earnings by unknown individuals. Users identified as Priya and Dipannita persuaded him to invest in “Revenue Tasks.” Initially, Mendonsa transferred Rs 1,100 multiple times and received the promised returns, encouraging him to continue.

On November 14, another user, Nishmitha Shetty, directed him to register on a website, digitvisionuoce.cc, and invest Rs 4 lakh in various shares. Over the next few days, he made multiple transfers totaling Rs 12,25,000, including Rs 50,000 via Google Pay, believing the scheme was legitimate.

After receiving the money, the alleged handlers stopped responding, and neither the invested amount nor the promised profits were returned.

The CEN police have registered a case under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act and Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and investigations are ongoing.

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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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