RTI activist’s murder: Pro-Hindu group leader sent to 3-day police custody

Pro-Hindu Yuva Brigade  founder Naresh Shenoy, who has been named as prime accused in  RTI activist Vinayak Baliga murder case, was produced before a court in Mangaluru on Monday and was remanded to police custody for three days.

Shenoy, who had been absconding since the March 21 murder, was arrested by the police on Sunday.

Additional commissioner of police Tilak Chandra, the special investigation officer in the case, produced Shenoy before the the third judicial magistrate (first class).

The city-based RTI activist Baliga was murdered by hired killers on March 21 last near his residence at Kodialbail.

The case had generated public interest as the investigation was personally led by police commissioner M Chandra Sekhar.

Shenoy is a popular right wing youth leader and founder of Namo Brigade which had orchestrated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election campaign in 2014.

The Namo Brigade,  which was his outfit’s original name, was later renamed as Yuva Brigade.

Besides Naresh  Shenoy, the other arrested are Shailesh (40), Shivaprasad (28), Vineet Poojary (26) and Nishit Devadiga (23).

Naresh’s close associate, photographer K  Manjunath Shenoy (39), was also arrested for helping the accused abscond. He was later granted bail, police said.

The suspected motive for the murder relates to financial irregularities in a temple in the city. The temple is a cash- rich religious institution  belonging to Goud Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) community.

Police sources said that Shenoy was angered when Baliga, a fellow community member, tried to expose the dealings of the accused in the temple.