Mosque secretary murder in Mangaluru: 14 booked; virtual bandh during funeral

Mangaluru: Two locals were among 14 booked in connection with the murder of Abdul Rahim (32), who was brutally hacked to death by miscreants at Ira Kody in Bantwal taluk on Tuesday.

Bantwal rural police, based on the statement of Kalandar Shafi (29), who was assisting Rahim in unloading sand from the pickup vehicle on Tuesday, registered a case against local residents Deepak, Sumith and 12 others under sections 103, 109, 118 (1), 118 (2), 190, 191 (1), 191 (2) and 191 (3). 

District-in-charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao in Shivamogga told reporters that the police have clues about the suspects and added that they will be arrested soon.

The primary investigation indicates that enmity and revenge were the reasons behind the murder, he said. “Everything will be known only after the investigation,” he added.

Barring a stray incident of stone throwing at a bus in Surathkal, the huge funeral procession of Rahim proceeded from Kutthar Madani Nagara mosque to Muhiddin Juma Masjid in Kolatthamajal without any untoward incident on Wednesday.

All along the route, including B C Road, an undeclared bandh was witnessed with shops downing shutters as a mark of respect to the deceased.

The body was taken in an ambulance under heavy police security.

Traffic came to a standstill in Thokkatu, Farangipete, B C Road and Mitthabail when the crowd tried to have a final glimpse of the body. The police had a tough time trying to disperse the crowd. Later, the final rites were performed in the presence of thousands of people at Muhiddin Juma Masjid’s premises in Kolatthamajal.

3 murders in a month

Three murders in a month are not only a black mark for the district administration but a huge setback for development, rued KPCC working president Manjunath Bhandary. If such hate speeches towards a community are ignored, very soon this trend will spread to other districts, Bhandary warned.

Dinesh charged that BJP and Sangh Parivar are responsible for the present situation in the coastal areas like communal hatred and serial murders. “They do politics over even a dead body,” he said. Terming the murder of Rahim painful, he said BJP leaders’ minds “are full of poison and dirt, they have no logic, justice, and humanity”. “A bad atmosphere of communal hatred and revenge had been created there and the murder is the result of it, he said.