Bengaluru: The eight accused persons arrested by Karnataka’s Mangaluru Police in connection with the Hindu activist and rowdy sheeter Suhas Shetty (42) murder case have been taken into police custody till May 9.
The local court in Mangaluru passed the order on Monday, following the Bajpe Police producing them before the magistrate.
Suhas Shetty was murdered on May 1. The BJP and Hindu organisations are demanding a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the case and suspect the involvement of “fundamentalist forces” behind the murder. The police have arrested eight persons in connection with the murder.
Police sources said that they are suspecting the role of more than 20 persons in the case, and have also launched a hunt for two more main accused persons in connection with the case.
The probe has also revealed that the accused had arranged a night party on April 2 and planned the murder at a resort in Kalasa in Chikkamagaluru.
Meanwhile, Hindu Jagarana Vedike has cried foul over the handling of the case by the Police Department. Vedike leader K.T. Ullas has alleged that invisible forces are behind the murder of Suhas Shetty. He has alleged that more than Rs 50 lakh has been funded to commit the murder, and has also suspected the role of a head constable belonging to the minority community attached to the Bajpe police station.
Ullas said that the police claim that Suhas Shetty was murdered for “revenge”. “Invisible forces are involved in the case along with the family of the youth who was killed by Suhas Shetty. The modus operandi of target killing is evident,” said Ullas.
He claimed that the PFI model was adopted in killing Suhas, adding that the killers were seen in no hurry while boarding their vehicle after committing the murder.
“The locals have supported them. Two burqa clad women are clearly seen in the video helping the assailants. It seems those present on the scene of the crime knew about the murder beforehand, Ullas further claimed.
He also alleged that Suhas Shetty was “tortured” by the head constable attached to Bajpe police station.
“The police had warned Suhas Shetty not to carry weapons in his vehicle. The information leak would have happened through the head constable,” he alleged.
He further claimed that the two Hindu accused are deliberately included among others by the police in the case to avoid the possibility of handing over this case to the NIA.
Police said that the investigation into the murder has revealed that the killing was carried out as an act of revenge for the death of Mohammad Fazil, who was allegedly hacked to death by Shetty in 2022.
Suhas Shetty, a former Bajrang Dal activist, was killed on May 1. He was the prime accused in the murder of Mohammad Fazil, a resident of Surathkal. Shetty and his associates had allegedly killed Fazil in a public place on July 28, 2022, reportedly in retaliation for the murder of BJP youth worker Praveen Kumar Nettaru.
Nettaru, a BJP activist, was hacked to death during the height of the Hijab row. His murder had triggered a series of revenge killings and multiple stabbing incidents across Karnataka. Shetty had been released on bail at the time of his death.
Speaking to the media last Saturday, Mangaluru Police Commissioner Anupam Agarwal stated that Fazil’s brother, Adil Meharuf, had conspired to kill Suhas Shetty and had arranged the funds for the execution.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Abdul Safwan (29), a driver; Niyaz (28); Kalandar Shafi (31); Mohammad Muzammil (32), a salesman working in Dubai; Ranjith (19); Nagaraj (20); Mohammad Rizwan (28), and Adil Meharuf.
(IANS)
