Mangaluru, May 1 (IANS) The communally sensitive coastal city of Mangaluru in Karnataka has turned tense following the murder of a Hindu activist on Thursday. The deceased has been identified as Suhas Shetty.
According to the police, a gang of four assailants hacked Suhas Shetty to death using machetes and swords.
Suhas Shetty was a Bajrang Dal activist and the prime accused in the murder of Mohammad Fazil, a resident of Suratkal. Shetty and his associates had allegedly killed Fazil in a public place on July 28, 2022, in retaliation for the murder of BJP activist Praveen Kumar Nettaru.
Nettaru, a BJP worker from the same communally sensitive region, was hacked to death during the height of the ‘hijab’ row. The incident occurred in Bellare near Sullia in Dakshina Kannada district. Nettaru’s murder had triggered revenge killings and a spate of stabbing incidents across the state.
Suhas Shetty had come out of prison on bail in the murder case of Fazil. Following the assault, locals rushed him to A.J. Hospital in Mangaluru, where he succumbed to his injuries. A large number of Hindu activists gathered at the hospital, prompting heavy police deployment.
BJP MLA Y. Bharat Shetty and former BJP State President Nalin Kumar Kateel have rushed to the hospital in the aftermath of the incident.
The murder of Suhas Shetty reportedly took place in the Kinnipadavu area under the jurisdiction of Bajpe Police Station. Sources say police have obtained video footage of the attack.
Further details about the incident are awaited, and authorities are closely monitoring the situation amid rising tensions.
Mangaluru recently witnessed a mob lynching of a man from Kerala, identified as Mohammad Ashraf, who was allegedly heard shouting “Pakistan Zindabad” during a cricket tournament.
Police are investigating whether Suhas Shetty’s murder has any connection to that incident.
With this latest development, the coastal Karnataka region remains on edge.
Earlier, the revenge killings had shattered the region and the entire state. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was ruling the state had to put in all its efforts to defuse the anger of the Hindu activists after the murder of Nettaru in 2022.
The BJP government’s reluctance to visit revenge killing victim Mohammad Fazil’s house and console his family had raised concerns. BJP leaders had queued up before Praveen’s residence and announced compensation from the government, but did not even mention Fazil.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is probing the murder case of Praveen Kumar Nettaru.
NIA, which is probing Praveen Kumar Nettaru’s murder case, had submitted a charge sheet against 20 accused persons to the NIA Special court in Bengaluru. The NIA had submitted 1,500 pages of the charge sheet, including statements of 240 witnesses.
–IANS
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