Out on bail, murder accused taunts K'taka government, again!

Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bengaluru: It seems that the selfstyled "cow vigilante", Puneeth Kerehalli, who is also an accused in a murder case, is back in business after his bail. Despite being out on conditional bail, the murder accused still continues to share his provocative video clips on social media where he is seen criticising the current Congress government for attempting to impress the minority community in the state.

Recently, a city-based activist, Ahoratra, shared an audio clip which is said to be an alleged phone call conversation between him and Kerehalli's aides. The conversation begins when Kerehalli's aides, who seem to be drunk, call up Ahoratra, who gives them an earful for calling him. Ahoratra questions them on murdering the cattle trader, to which they reply that they did exactly what they were supposed to do.

They also tell him that they are ready to commit more murders to protect the Gau (cows) and the Hindu religion. Ahoratra tells them, "The Hindu religion does not need you to protect it. But it requires protection from miscreants like you," to which they seem to get offended and tease him to call them for help when he is attacked by a Muslim.

Several names of Hindutva extremists and BJP members such as Sulibele, were also mentioned several times by the accused during conversation. The audio clip surfaces when Karnataka is witnessing a decline in communal tensions after the formation of a new government. The activist, Ahoratra, claimed to have shared the communication details with the Sathanur police requesting immediate action on Kerehalli and his men.

Further action taken by the police in this matter remains to be seen. Kerehalli and his four associates were charged under Sections 302 (Murder), 341 (Wrongful Restraint), and 504 (Intentional Insult with Intent to Provoke Breach of Peace) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) after they were accused of torturing and murdering a 39-year old cattle trader from Sathanur, Idrees Pasha.

Pasha's body was found approximately 100 meters away from the jurisdictional police station on March 31. In order to evade arrest, Kerehalli and his accomplices were on the run until they were arrested on April 5 in Rajasthan. However the following month, the accused were granted conditional bail by the Karnataka High Court, based on a charge sheet filed by the investigating officers.

Meanwhile Kerehalli on his social media handle questioned the basis on which the Congress government, led by Siddaramaiah, granted Rs 25 lakh as compensation to a man who was allegedly involved in transporting cattle for slaughter. He went on to warn Chief Minister Siddaramaiah that the Gau (cow) will curse him, and he will have to face the consequences. While recording the video, Kerehalli can be seen sitting in a car which has 'PRESS' written on it.

What does the police have to say?

The police said that Kerehalli is a habitual offender and has many cases filed against him. In December 2022, he was assaulted by Pro-Kannada organisation members for his offensive comments against actor Puneeth Rajkumar. Earlier he was arrested for tearing Tipu Sultan's posters put up by Congress as part of the party's freedom walk programme in August 2022.