Zakir Naik granted Saudi citizenship by King Salman?

May 20, 2017

Mumbai, May 20: Renowned Islamic preacher and Indian televangelist Dr Zakir Naik has been granted Saudi Arabian nationality by Saudi King Salman, according to reports.

Sources claimed that the Islamic scholar was granted Saudi citizenship to escape potential arrest amidst reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government in India is allegedly trying to implicate him in false cases.

Indian law enforcement agencies were reportedly about to revoke his passport, request Interpol to issue arrest warrant and make him return to the country. To escape the arrest, the Islamic preacher stayed in Malaysia where he was touring at the moment and decided not to return to India.

It should be noted that the Malaysian government too had awarded him permanent residency status five years ago.

The Islamic scholar is currently staying in Saudi Arabia. New Delhi had certainly not expected the Saudi government to make such a move. Reports claim that Saudi King Salman helped Zakir Naik attain the citizenship.

Zakir Naik, 51, an NRI, did not visit India after media launched a massive hate campaign against him last year and linked him to Dhaka terror attack without any basis.

Following the Dhaka attack, the NIA had registered a case against him and some officials of his organisation, Islamic Research Foundation, under section 153-A of IPC (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) and the UAPA.

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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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