8 Sangh Parivar workers arrested for youth’s murder

NT Correspondent
Mangaluru:

Police have arrested eight people, all of whom are members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad-Bajrang Dal, in connection with the murder of 19-year-old Masud, a painter by profession, on July 21 in Dakshina Kannada district.

The arrested have been identified as Sudhir (neighbour of the deceased), Sunil Kelanje, Abhilash Bellare, Jim Ranjith, Shivaprasad, Bhaskar, Ranjith and Sadashiva from Kelanje village. They have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including sections 143 (Unlawful assembly), 147, 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 302 (murder) and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object).

Masud originally hailed from Kerala, but he had been staying with his grandmother in Kelanje. He was allegedly assaulted by the eight-member gang on July 19. Two days later, he succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Mangaluru where he was being treated.

According to a report in The Wire, right-wing activists had been keeping a close watch on Masud after he bought a threemonth- old calf a week before Eid. Following a tip off, the police even visited Masud's house to inquire whether he intended to slaughter the calf. Masud, in fact, wanted to rear the cow, his friend Shanif was quoted as saying by The Wire.

On July 19, Sudhir and Masud had a heated argument, in the course of which they both physically assaulted each other. Hours later, Sudhir lured Masud to a secluded spot in the village and severely beat him up along with seven others. Masud eventually managed to flee, said the report. Later, his friends spotted him lying unconscious near a well. They took him to a local hospital, and later he was shifted to a hospital in Mangaluru, around 50 kilometres away, for better treatment.

Three of the accused, Sunil, Shivprasad and Sudhir had also accompanied Masud to the local hospital. They allegedly lied to hospital staff, saying Masud had been injured in a fall. The three left for home as Shanif and others took Masud to Mangaluru. Doctors at Mangaluru informed Masud's family that a brain surgery could not be conducted as there was a blood clot. Two days later, Masud breathed his last.