The murder of Phanindra Subramanya, the Managing Director of Aironics Media Private Limited, has become the latest focal point of a political fight. On July 9, Phanindra and CEO Vinu Kumar, were attacked by three men in their office and they succumbed to their injuries. Four men have been arrested, including Arun Kumar, the head of a rival company called GNet who had allegedly ordered their killing. The matter is presently under investigation, but the right wing has jumped on the bandwagon and is now claiming that Phanindra was a Hindu seer and alleged an alarming situation in Karnataka due to the Congress government.
“He was not a seer or a saint. He was a businessman. We will examine those tweets, but we have issued a note already saying what he was doing and that it was a business rivalry. It has nothing to do with the religion or ethnicity of anybody. We have already clarified that. It is a simple business rivalry and has nothing to do with caste or community or creed or party lines. It has not been done on those lines,” said Additional Commissioner (East) Raman Gupta.
“He was a supporter of Hindutva as per his posts on Facebook. But there is nothing so far to show he was a seer or saint or member of any outfit,” DCP Northeast, Laxmi Prasad said.
Many BJP and right-wing leaders have claimed he is a seer and a Hindu leader. Mohan Gowda, the state spokesperson of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti in Bengaluru, claimed that Phanindra was a Hindu leader.
One more Hindu Leader brutully murdered in Bengaluru.#Paneendra_subramanyam no more.
— Mohan gowda (@Mohan_HJS) July 11, 2023
Om Shanti pic.twitter.com/jOBswfEEOp
Rajeev Chandresekhar, Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics and Technology, quoted Mohan Gowda and said that criminals attacking Hindus are given a free pass by Congress governments.
This is the other defining attribute of Cong govts - a direct fallout of Cong appeasement politics - where killers n criminal/terror orgs feel encouraged in their Cong "safe havens"
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar (@Rajeev_GoI) July 12, 2023
This is true everywhere Cong n Allies like TMC are in govt - criminals attackkng Hindus are… https://t.co/ixHSbinD6o
Bengaluru based lawyer Vinay Sreenivasa responded to this tweet and asked why the minister was spreading wrong information. “The accused and killers are all Hindus and it was a business rivalry.Why are you encouraging this communal spin?” Vinay asked.
It must be noted that Rajeev Chandrasekhar has been actively talking about establishing a fact-check system which will be headed by a union government agency.
Sunil Deodhar, National Secretary, BJP, Co-Incharge Andhra Pradesh, went a step ahead and claimed that Phanindra was a seer.
Hindu Seer brutally murdered in Bengaluru.#Paneendra_subramanyam no more.
— Sunil Deodhar (@Sunil_Deodhar) July 11, 2023
Alarming situation in #Karnataka has arrived due to a Government that idolises tyrant #TipuSultan.
Everyone should strongly protest !#CongressHaiToKillingsHai pic.twitter.com/IuybCWjEo4
Speaking to TNM, Mohan Gowda said Phanindra was active in Hindu organisations. "He is from the RSS and active in many Hindu organisations. He helps Hindu organisations," he said. However, Mohan Gowda admitted that the killing was due to Phanindra's business rivalry and not because of his religion.
#Paneendra_subramanyam a prominent #Hindu Leader brutully murdered in #Bengaluru. From the day @RahulGandhi Private Limited Company came into power, Crime,Murder ,Rape , Conversation,Jihad factory became #Karnataka Face #AntiHindu_Congress pic.twitter.com/arKLOy83ad
— Shailesh Tewarie #HinduLivesMatter (@shaileshbrahm) July 12, 2023
The main accused in the case who has confessed to his role in the murder is Phanindra’s business rival and former co-worker Arun Kumar. According to the police, Arun Kumar and Phanindra worked together at an internet service provider company called GNet before Phanindra resigned and started his own business. Arun Kumar is also a Hindutva supporter and an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader according to the police.
BJP legislators held a protest at the Vidhana Soudha on Wednesday over the murder of Phanindra and the Jain monk Acharya Kamakumar Nandi Maharaj in Belagavi, which occurred in the space of a week. Police said that the Jain monk was killed over the repayment of a loan to two individuals, Narayana Basappa Madi and Hassan Dalayath, who have since confessed to the murder.