E-Paper
Cow vigilante, aides booked for killing cattle trader in Karnataka
The deceased, Indrees Pasha, was allegedly murdered by one Puneet Kerehalli and his associates.
A 39-year-old cattle trader was allegedly killed and one of his associates was assaulted by a group of cow vigilantes who accused them of illegally transporting cattle in Karnataka’s Ramanagara district, police said on Sunday.
The deceased, Indrees Pasha, was allegedly murdered by one Puneet Kerehalli and his associates. Indrees’s body was recovered the next morning. Several people, including Kerehalli, who is now absconding, have been booked on charges of murder in this regard, police said.
Read here: Cong pledges support citizens booked over protesting tree felling
According to police, Kerehalli runs an organisation named ‘Rashtra Rakshana Pade’ (Nation Protection Army). In the past, he has organised campaigns against halal meat and sought a ban on Muslim traders at Hindu temple fairs.
The first information report (FIR) registered by the deceased’s family at Sathanur police station said the incident took place at around 11.45pm on Friday when Indrees and his associates, Irfan, Syed Zaheer, were transporting 16 cattle to Tamil Nadu. The vehicle was stopped by Kerehalli and his associates who accused the trio of illegally transporting cattle.
HT has seen a copy of the FIR.
“Puneet Kerehalli (main accused) had demanded ₹2 lakh to let them go but since the money was spent on buying cattle, they could not pay him. Kerehalli abused them and asked them to go to Pakistan. When they began to attack, two of them ran away,” the deceased’s brother, Yunus Pasha, said in the FIR.
Zaheer, who was driving the truck, said they were stopped by the vigilantes. Zaheer said that while Indrees and Irfan managed to escape, he was assaulted and taken to a nearby police station by Kerehalli and his associates.
Zaheer said that at the police station, he was booked under the The Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act despite him producing all relevant documents to show that he and his associates had legally purchased the cattle. He was detained for further interrogation.
Zaheer said that on Saturday morning, he was shown Indrees’s photo and asked if he knew him. “When I said yes, they said he was found dead,” he said.
Police said local residents spotted Indrees’s body a few metres away from the police station at around 8am.
Ramanagara superintendent of police (SP) Karthik Reddy said police are yet to ascertain the cause of Indrees’s death. “The post mortem was conducted on Saturday night and the report is expected any time. We can confirm the cause of the death only after the report is available,” he said.
Asked about the documents produced by Zaheer to the police, he said “the documents are being verified”.
Police said the FIR was filed under sections 302 (murder), 323 (assault) 341 (wrongful restraint), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of Indian Penal Code.
The deceased’s family held a protest outside the police station, demanding the accused’s arrest.
Read here: Karnataka elections: Another MLA submits his resignation to JD(S)
Opposition parties condemned the incident.
“The murder of a young man in Sathanur is a testament for @BJP4Karnatakas’ (BJP Karnataka) goonda politics in the name of protecting religion. Incompetent Home Minister @JnanendraAraga is directly responsible for the death,” leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah tweeted.
“Karnataka had never seen such an incompetent & careless Home Minister like @JnanendraAraga. People cannot expect safety and security under this incapable government. He should be first ousted from the cabinet… Murders in the name of protecting cows do not seem like a mad act by random goons. It looks like an orchestrated act to light up communal flares & polarize the electorate ahead of the elections,” he added.
While there was no immediate reaction available from the Karnataka home minister, BJP leaders refused to comment on the matter.
