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Special team to probe Muslim man’s killing: K’taka police
The Karnataka Police have formed special teams to investigate the murder of a 23-year-old Muslim man in Dakshina Kannada district
The Karnataka Police have formed special teams to investigate the murder of a 23-year-old Muslim man in Dakshina Kannada district, where a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) youth wing leader was also hacked to death days ago, triggering widespread protests with members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Saturday barging into the residence of the state’s home minister, officials said.
While no arrests have been made so far in connection with the murder of Faizal (23), who was stabbed to death by unidentified men in Mangaluru’s Surathkal area on Thursday evening, senior police officers said more than 20 people have been detained for questioning.
The murder added to the tension in the region which has already been on the edge since Bharatiya Janata Youth Morcha (BJYM) leader Praveen Nettaru was killed at Bellare village of the district on July 26. The police on Thursday arrested two men with suspected links to the Popular Front of India (PFI) in the case, but no further arrests have been made since.
In order to maintain the law-and-order situation, the police and district administration called for a peace meeting in the district. “Members from various communities attended the peace meeting convened by the district administration. They have raised various issues. The police department is undertaking a probe in the right direction,” said Alok Kumar, additional director general of police (law and order).
“Though no arrests have been made in Thursday night murder yet, we have formed special teams to investigate the matter. Culprits will be arrested soon.”
Meanwhile, ABVP members were baton-charged and driven away when they barged into the residence of state’s home minister Araga Jnanendra in Bengaluru on Saturday seeking “justice” for the 32-year-old BJP youth wing leader. The protesting ABVP members holding their organisation’s saffron flag stormed into the compound of Jnanendra’s bungalow at Jayamahal and raised “We want justice” slogans.
They also sought a ban on the PFI and its allied outfits, alleging they were behind the attacks on Hindutva activists, especially in the coastal districts bordering Kerala.
Initially, the police tried to persuade them to go away but they remained adamant and staged a sit-in demonstration inside the compound raising slogans. Later, the protesters tried to storm Jnanendra’s house, a senior police officer said, adding that cops finally dragged them out of the bungalow and a few of them were baton-charged.
Some of the protesters were taken to the JC Nagar police station where cases were registered against 30 of them, the officer added.
“Police have taken them in their custody. I have told the police to investigate whether they are the members of the ABVP,” Jnanendra told reporters.
He further said that if the protesters were ABVP workers then he would wish to say that chief minister Basavaraj Bommai has already explained the measures taken by the government such as handing over Nettaru’s murder case to the National Investigation Agency.
“I will call them and talk to them. They came to stage a demonstration against the fanatic forces. A few of them did some excesses, which I have noticed. They came to me thinking I am one amongst them and I too feel that they are my people,” he added.
ADGP Alok Kumar appealed to people to maintain peace and report about anyone who makes provocative speeches.
“We will arrest the culprits behind both the murders reported in Dakshina Kannada district. We have also asked the officials hold peace meetings effectively, especially in sensitive areas,” Kumar said.
Mangaluru police commissioner N Shashi Kumar said people should be responsible while using social media. “Our priority is to crack the case pertaining to the murder of Faizal in Surathkal and maintain law and order,” he said, adding that the social media monitoring cell in the commissionerate limits is monitoring “all the offensive, objectionable and provocative content posted on social media”.
“We do not wish to cause trouble to people unnecessarily. Already, people are facing inconvenience with the imposition of Section 144 in the district. People should be more responsible while using social media,” the commissioner added.
(With inputs from PTI)
