RTI activist murder: Cops confirm arrest of third supari killer as Naresh seeks bail

April 14, 2016

Mangaluru, Apr 14: The police have confirmed the arrest of third supari killer in connection with the murder of 51-year-old Right-to-Information activist Vinayak Panduranga Baliga in the city.

Shivaprasad and Naresh Shenoy

Shivaprasad (28), a resident of Panjimogaru, was formally arrested on Wednesday, police sources said.

With this, the police have arrested three persons in the case. The police had arrested two supari killers – Vineeth Poojary and Vishith Devadia – on March 27.

However, the cops so far have failed to arrest the ones who plotted the murder and gave supari to the contract killers.

The police said that Shivaprasad was the one who hit Baliga hard on his head leading to the latter's death.

Shivaprasad was with the other accused, Vineet Poojary and Nishit Devadiga, when they attacked Baliga near his house on March 21.

Police sources said that they came to know about the involvement of Shivaprasad and Srikant (40), a resident of Shantinagara, Kavoor, during the interrogation of the arrested duo.

The police said that a search is on for Srikant who has been accused of hiring the three arrested persons for murdering Baliga.

Meanwhile, founder of Mangaluru unit of NaMo Brigade (Yuva Brigade) Naresh Shenoy has filed anticipatory bail application before the II Additional District and Sessions Judge Court here.

Mr. Shenoy, whom the police want to question in connection with the murder, has been reported to be at large since the day of the crime.

The court has now asked the Public Prosecutor to file objections to the bail application.

Comments

We should adopt islamic sharia law in India...that will help victims family to get proper justice....

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

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.

Comments