A day after a Muslim man was hacked to death by an unidentified group of assailants in Surathkal on the outskirts of Karnataka's Mangaluru, the police have assured that “due justice will be done quickly and fairly”. In view of the incident, Mangaluru Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar requested all people belonging to the Muslim community to pray at their homes “in the larger interest of the law and order of every locality.”
Large gatherings remain banned with Section 144 imposed in some parts. “We are taking up a complaint of an eyewitness who was with the deceased during the incident and a case of murder in Surathkal police station has been filed. The motive behind the incident and the identity of the culprits is being investigated. I appeal to all the citizens to not succumb to any rumours being spread by vested-interest groups,” the police commissioner told news agency ANI.
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A man belonging to the minority community - identified as Mohammad Fazil - was reportedly attacked with a lethal weapon by a group of youth. The incident happened around the same time when chief minister Basavaraj Bommai was on a visit to the house of Praveen Nettar, a BJP youth wing leader who was hacked to death at Bellare two days ago, a PTI report said.
The victim, who was a resident of Mangalpete near Surathkal, was grievously injured in the attack and died on the way to hospital.
{{/usCountry}}The victim, who was a resident of Mangalpete near Surathkal, was grievously injured in the attack and died on the way to hospital.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, earlier in the day on Thursday, two persons with suspected links to the Popular Front of India (PFI) were arrested by the Karnataka Police over the murder of the BJP youth wing leader in Dakshina Kannada district that sparked widespread outrage in the southern state.
Praveen Nettaru, a 32-year-old leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) youth wing, was murdered in the district earlier this week.