A cattle trader in Karnataka’s Ramanagara district was brutally murdered on Saturday, April 1, allegedly by Hindutva activists on the pretext of transporting cattle illegally. The deceased has been identified as Idrees Pasha, a resident of the state’s Mandya district. The incident has caused unrest among the local community and the victim's family, who are demanding quick justice for the victim. Two of Pasha’s associates – Syed Zaheer, the driver of the container and Irfan, who was in charge of loading, were physically assaulted by the activists. The police have booked prominent pro Hindutva activist Puneeth Kerehalli and four others in the case.
The accused have been booked under Sections 302 (Murder), 341 (wrongful restraint), and 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the IPC, based on a complaint lodged by Pasha's family members. The FIR states that although Pasha showed the purchase documentation that the cattle was bought from the local market, Puneet abused him and demanded Rs 2 lakh. Puneet then allegedly asked Pasha to "Go back to Pakistan", chased and assaulted him, resulting in his death.
The family members of the deceased claim that Puneet and his colleagues were cow vigilantes and demanded a sum of Rs 2 lakh to release Pasha. If they were not paid, they threatened to kill him. Pasha's family members have been protesting with his body and demanding action against Puneet and his associates.
Puneeth & group chased & intercepted their vehicle opposite to Sathaunur Police station. Two associates of Idrees were also injured, One of them (Syed) was handed over to Police. Idrees body was found a few hundred meters away from station in the morning.
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) April 2, 2023
With the incident coming to light, photographs of Puneet with several prominent BJP leaders in Karnataka including South Bengaluru MP Tejaswi Surya, BJP National Secretary CT Ravi, began to surface on social media, pointing out his proximity to the state’s ruling party.
Puneeth Kerehalli is closely associated to Founder of 'Yuva Brigade' Chakravarty Sulibele and Chief of Sri Ram Sene, Pramod Muthalik. pic.twitter.com/piN2U54qkZ
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) April 2, 2023