Mangaluru police arrest 8 in connection with Suhas Shetty murder: Karnataka home minister Parameshwara

Parameshwara said that an anti-communal task force will be set up along the lines of the anti-naxal force to tackle communal issues issues in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi district.

The Mangaluru police have arrested eight persons in connection with the murder of Hindutva activist Suhas Shetty in Bajpe, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said on Saturday.

The arrests were made on the night of May 1, the minister added.

Suhas Shetty, a known rowdy sheeter and Hindutva activist, was murdered by an unidentified group late on Thursday within the Bajpe police station limits in Mangaluru City.

Abdul Safwan (29) from Shantigudde, in Bajpe, Niyaz (25) from Shantigudde, Mohammed Musammir (32) from Shantigudde, Kalandar Shafl (29) from Kursugudde in Kalavaru, Adil Mehroof (27) from Mangalapete, Nagaraj M (20) from Kalasa, Mohammed Rizwan (28) from Jokatte, 62nd Thakur Village, and Ranjith from Rudrapade in Kalasa were those who were detained, Commissioner of Police Anupam Agrawal said.

Explaining further, the commissioner said Safwan was assaulted in 2023 by Suhas Shetty's associates- Prasatha Ganeshm Yajnesh, Dhanraj, Puneeth, and others. A case was registered at Surathkal Police Station.

In retaliation, and after receiving threats from Suhas Shetty and associates, Abdul Safwan conspired with others to murder Suhas Shetty. Safwan met Niyaz and Musammir to discuss the murder, who later met Adil, brother of Fazil, who was hacked to death by Suhas Shetty and others in July 2022.

Fazil, in turn, agreed to pay Rs five lakh for committing the murder and initially paid Rs three lakh. They formed a team by involving Ranjith and Nagaraj. In fact, Ranjith and Nagaraj had stayed in Safwan’s house 15 days ago.

The suspects were closely following the movement of Suhash Shetty and had made two attempts in the past to kill him. On May 1, after learning the exact movements of Suhas, they hired two vehicles—a car and a pickup vehicle and followed him.

The pick-up vehicle intercepted the car in which Suhas was travelling along with his associates. Later, five assailants in a car assaulted him grievously with lethal weapons.

The police are on the lookout for two more people who were part of the conspiracy and furnishing details on Suhas, said the Commissioner.

To a query on two burqa clad women at the spot as shown in the video that went viral, the Commissioner said the women have been identified and were the relatives of Niyaz. They had come for some work.

As per the preliminary investigation, the arrested do not belong to any organisation. However, their social media accounts are being verified. It was a revenge murder with both Safwan and Adil having the same motive, said the commissioner.

The commissioner further said that the owner of the pick-up vehicle and the car have been identified and have been called for an inquiry. The arrested will be produced in court, and police custody will be sought for further investigation into the case.

Among the arrested, there are two cases registered against Safwan in Bajpe and Sakleshpur police stations for unlawful assembly and rioting and robbery, respectively. There is also a case against Niyaz at Bajpe station for unlawful assembly and rioting. There is a case against Musammir at Panambur station for committing robbery. There are three cases against Kalandar in Surathkal and Bajpe under the NDPS Act and at Panambur for theft. There is a case against Adil in Surathkal on charges of intentional insult for provocation, and wrongful restraint.

In addition, the police have arrested three persons in connection with stone pelting at buses in Mangaluru on May 2, said the Commissioner.