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NIA takes charge of probe into Bajrang Dal worker’s murder
Karnataka police DG & IGP Praveen Sood said NIA has registered a complaint in the matter, marking the formal start of its probe
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday took over the investigation into last month’s murder of a Bajrang Dal worker in Shivamogga district of Karnataka.
The 26-year-old activist, Harsha, was fatally stabbed on the night of February 20 in Bharti Nagar locality of Shivamogga town. His killing came during a time of heightened communal tension in the state owing to the controversy on barring Muslim students from wearing the hijab in educational institutions.
Karnataka police DG & IGP Praveen Sood confirmed on Thursday that the murder case was handed over to the central investigating agency and added that the NIA has registered a complaint in the matter, marking the formal start of its probe.
Karnataka police have named ten people, all Muslims, as accused in the murder case. While nine of the accused are aged between 20 and 23, one of them is 30 years old. On March 2, the state police had invoked sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against the 10 accused and the NIA is expected to seek custody of the arrested suspects and will carry out the investigation in Shivamogga.
Union minister of state for agriculture and BJP leader from Karnataka, Shobha Karandlaje, had written to Union home minister Amit Shah on February 22 seeking an NIA probe into the matter.
According to a state police officer familiar with the case, provisions of the stringent UAPA were invoked against the accused as the murder was committed in a way that it sparked fear in society and led to communal tension.
“It is a murder committed in full public view using deadly arms/weapons to instil a sense of fear/terror among a section of the society. Further, the angle of conspiracy is still under investigation,” said the official, requesting anonymity.
“There is no requirement for organised crime to take place (for UAPA to be invoked). If there is a crime, that is brutal enough; which creates terror in people’s minds, you can book the case of UAPA,” the officer added.
A day after Harsha’s killing, senior BJP leader and cabinet minister KS Eshwarappa and Shivamogga MP BY Raghavendra had violated prohibitory orders and taken part in the activist’s funeral procession. Violence, stone pelting was reported from Muslim neighbourhoods along the procession’s route, resulting in communal tension at the time. Eshwarappa had also made several communally charged remarks about the possible identity of Harsha’s killers.
Former chief minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah welcomed the move to hand over the murder probe to NIA but asked why no action was taken against BJP leaders. “Those who have killed him should be hanged. I condemn the murder. But, Harsha was murdered on February 20 and on February 20, (BJP minister) Eshwarappa said that he was killed by Muslim goons. There was no FIR then, no arrests, but the minister claimed it was Muslim goons. Later, he took out a procession despite section 144. What case have they put against Eshwarappa? No one should be above the law,” said Siddaramaiah.
Harsha had at least three criminal cases against him since 2016, including rioting and hurting religious sentiments. His involvement in distributing saffron scarves to Hindu students to counter the Hijab protests as well as making derogatory remarks and morphing posters about the minorities was also cited as reasons why the 27-year-old was fatally attacked.
Harsha also knew at least two of his assailants and they had violent encounters in the past, HT had reported.
However, the state government as well as the party’s affiliates have blamed “extremist” organisations like Popular Front of India (PFI) and its affiliates Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) for fuelling hate against Hindu workers in the state.
Since Harsha’s death, several senior BJP leaders in the state, including senior ministers, have rushed to meet the family and give out compensation as well as issue statements against what they call an organised attempt to target Hindu workers.
