Karnataka police have identified suspects and formed four special teams to track down those involved in the murder of Suhas Shetty, the main accused in the 2022 killing of Mohammed Fazil in Surathkal. Suhas was hacked to death near the Bajpe bus stand in Mangaluru on Thursday evening, May 1.
According to the police, a group of men armed with weapons surrounded Suhas and attacked him in public view before fleeing. Locals alerted the police, who rushed him to a nearby hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries. “Shetty’s murder appears to be a planned attack. We have formed four teams to investigate and arrest the suspects,” said Mangaluru Police Commissioner Anupam Agarwal. ADGP (Law & Order) Hithendra R added, “We have got to know about the culprits, their names and other details. Action is being taken.”
The incident triggered unrest in parts of Mangaluru. On May 2, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) suspended its suburban services after four buses were stoned near Pumpwell and Kankanady.
Police said Suhas had five criminal cases against him, including two murder cases, within Mangaluru city and Dakshina Kannada district limits. He had been convicted in one case, acquitted in two, and was on trial in the other two at the time of his death.
Following the attack, Mangaluru Police Commissioner Anupam Agarwal imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which empowers authorities to act in urgent cases of nuisance or potential threat. The orders came into effect at 6 am on May 2 and will remain in force until 5 am on May 6 to prevent any further untoward incidents.
In a separate incident, police in Udupi arrested two men—Sandesh (31) and Sushant (32), both residents of Hiriyadka—for allegedly attempting to attack an autorickshaw driver, Aboobacker, at Athrady late on May 1. The duo, believed to be seeking revenge for Suhas’s murder, followed the autorickshaw on a motorcycle and tried to stop it while brandishing a machete-like object and a glass bottle, according to police.
Aboobacker managed to escape by fleeing into a residential area after parking his vehicle. The accused damaged the autorickshaw’s windshield before fleeing. Following his complaint, Hiriyadka police arrested the two men and seized the motorcycle used in the incident.
Udupi Superintendent of Police K Arun said, “The arrested persons told the police that the attack was in retaliation for Suhas Shetty’s murder.”
Sandesh has four prior criminal cases and was previously convicted for causing hurt. Sushant is facing a case of unlawful assembly registered in 2023. Police confirmed that Aboobacker has no criminal background.
Two separate stabbing incidents in Mangaluru
Two men were attacked in separate incidents in Mangaluru on Friday, amid rising tensions following Suhas’s murder.
Naushad (38), a daily wage labourer from Kannur near Adyar, was on his way to Kallapu for head-loading work when he was assaulted by three men near the Mangaluru-Bengaluru National Highway. They initially asked about a city bus before stabbing him in the back. He escaped to a neighbour’s house, who helped him reach a private hospital in Falnir. Naushad is currently in the ICU.
In Kuntikana, Lukman, a fish vendor from Thokkottu, was attacked by five men near a petrol bunk while waiting to deliver fish. He managed to escape after a woman passerby raised an alarm. The woman later alerted the police and helped admit him to a hospital.