Praveen Poojary murder: Cops take five suspects into custody

IGP says murder was in retaliation for pelting stones at a prayer hall during torchlight procession

The Kodagu police have taken five out of eight arrested persons into their custody in connection with the murder of autorickshaw driver Praveen Poojary at Guddehosur in Kushalnagar taluk.

The police are grilling the suspects. Three others have been remanded in judicial custory.

The police have taken PFI workers M H Tufail (28)
of Madikeri, Nayaz (32) of Hunsur, Mohammed Mustafa (34), working in Coorg Spices in Madikeri, Iliyaz (35) of Kushalnagar and Irfan Ahmmed of Hunasoor N S Colony in the their custody and have intensified their interrogation.

Other arrested PFI district secretary T A Haris (30) of Gondibasavanahalli, Mujeeb Rehman (22) of Madapattana in Kushalnagar and Shareef of Gondibasavanahalli have been remanded in judicial custody.  Another suspect Mohammed Afreen is still at large.

Speaking to medipersons, IGP (Southern Range) B K Singh said the police have seized one motorcycle, a car, two knives and 10 mobile phones from the arrested.
Nayaz was involved in a riot at NR Mohalla in 2009 and Mandi Mohalla of Mysuru in 2008. Thufail was prime suspect in an assault on B S Nandakumar, in 2012 at Madikeri Rural Police Station jurisdiction.

Murdered after procession

The IGP said the victim Praveen Poojary had taken part in the torchlight proc-
ession organised by Hindu Jagarana Vedike in Kushalnagar on the night of August 14.
While he was returning home after the procession, he was murdered at Bettageri road in Guddehosur. The murder was a retaliation for pelting stones at a prayer hall during torchlight procession, the IGP explained.

Suspecting that Muslims were abused during the torchlight procession, the nine suspects had decided to retaliate. Shareef and Haris had called other suspects at 8.30 pm and had questioned on what they were doing even after stones were pelted.  
Precautionary measures
The IGP said that Kodagu is a sensitive place. The police have taken all precautionary measures to ensure that no untoward incidents occur in the district. Stating that the murder of Poojary was  challenging for the police, he said there was tensed situation in Kushalnagar following the incident.
“The protesters who protested demanding immediate arrest of the culprits after the murder too cooperated with the police.”

He said that DGP has announced cash prize of Rs 1 lakh to the team which nabbed the suspects.

Under the guidance of SP P Rajendra Prasad and Kushalnagar DySP P Kumar, a team of DCIB Inspector B R Lingappa, Suntikoppa PSI Anoop Madappa, CPI Kyathe Gowda, PSIs J E Mahesh, A P Seetharam, DCIB sleuths Hameed, Thammaiah, Venkatesh, Anil, Yogesh Kumar, Niranjana, Vasanth, Shashikumar, Mahesh, Rajesh, Girish, Jose Nishanth, Sunil Kumar, Siddarth, Pundareekshaka, Ravi, Joseph, Samath Rai nabbed the suspects.