Dakshina Kannada remained tense for a second day after fresh violence was reported in the aftermath of the death of Deepak Rao, who worked with the Bharatiya Janata Party as part of its social media team.
Basheer, a 47-year-old man, was attacked by a group of people at Kottara Chowki, in Mangaluru, on Wednesday night. He was rescued by two ambulance drivers, who spotted him lying on the road. Basheer, who runs a fast-food outlet in the area, is now undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
Police officials confirmed that Basheer had been stabbed. “We can confirm one incident of stabbing by unknown assailants in the night, in Mangaluru. The incident is being investigated,” said TR Suresh, Commissioner of Police, Mangaluru.
Surathkal police sources said that an incident of violence was reported there too. Mubashir, aged 22, was going from Katipalla towards Mangaluru after attending a wedding when unidentified men attacked him. He has been admitted to a hospital with head injuries.
Earlier in the day, in Katipalla, Deepak Rao was hacked to death in broad daylight. Deepak, a sales executive with a mobile phones distributor in Mangaluru, was on his way to work when the accused waylaid him and assaulted him.
Four persons were arrested on Wednesday for the murder. They have been identified as Mulky Naushad, Rizwan, Pinky Nawaz and Nirshan.
The police said that preventive measures had been taken to ensure law and order was maintained in the district. The Karnataka government has deployed additional forces to ensure peace, as the BJP and Bajrang Dal called for a day-long shutdown of the coastal district on Thursday. Protests are being planned in Katipalla and Surathkal against the killing even as the police has imposed Section 35 of the Karnataka Police Act, which prohibits public meets and rallies in the district.
“We have moved the body of the victim from the hospital to his home,” said Police Commissioner Suresh.
The police had kept quiet about moving Deepak’s body as pro-Hindu groups were planning to hold a funeral procession from the hospital to the victim’s home in Katipalla. Pro-Hindu groups gathered at the victim’s residence on Thursday, demanding that the Home Minister visit the family. While the Mangaluru police is trying to persuade Deepak’s family to cremate the body, his kin claimed that they were upset by the police’s move to shift his body discreetly.
With inputs from Story Infinity