Mangaluru: Urva Police have arrested a long-absconding accused in a 29-year-old double murder case that took place within the limits of the Urva Police Station. The arrested man is a member of the notorious Dandupalya gang.

The accused has been identified as Chikka Hanuma alias Chikka Hanumanthappa alias K. Krishnappa alias Krishna, a known member of the Dandupalya gang. Police traced and arrested him in Andhra Pradesh following specific information about his whereabouts. He was later produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody.

The crime dates back to the midnight of October 11, 1997. On that night, members of the Dandupalya gang allegedly broke into a house near Marigudi Cross in Urva. The gang murdered two occupants of the house, Lewis D’Mello, aged around 80, and Ranjith Vegas, aged 19, before fleeing with gold ornaments.

Those involved in the crime included Doddah Hanuma alias Doddah Hanumanthappa, Venkatesh alias Chandra, Munikrishna alias Krishna, Nallathimma alias Thimma, Krishna alias Dandupalya Krishna alias Nagaraj, Chikka Hanuma, Krishnadu alias Krishna, and Venkatesh alias Ramesh.

Following the crime, Chikka Hanuma went into hiding and managed to evade arrest for years by changing his name to Chikka Hanumanthappa alias K. Krishnappa alias Krishna. In 2010, a warrant was issued against him by the JMFC II Court in Mangaluru. Police records show that he is involved in about 13 murder and robbery cases across the state.

At the time of arrest, the accused was residing in Vijay Nagar Colony in Madanapalle, located in Annamayya district of Andhra Pradesh. He is originally from Hoskote taluk near Bengaluru.

The arrest operation was carried out by a team led by Urva Police Inspector Shyam Sundar H.M., along with Sub-Inspectors Gurappakanti and L. Manjula, Assistant Sub-Inspector Vinay Kumar, and staff members Lalithalakshmi, Anil, Pramod, Atmanand, and Harish.

Mangaluru Police Commissioner said a recommendation has been sent to the State Director General and Inspector General of Police for rewarding the officers and staff involved in tracing and arresting the accused.

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New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.

The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.

Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.

“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.

Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”

Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.

In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”

"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added. 

According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.

Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.