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Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat, a senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionary in Karnataka, did not appear for questioning before the Bantwal Rural police on Saturday, September 26, in connection with the murder of Abdul Rahiman in Dakshina Kannada in May 2025. Bhat told the police that he was out of station and had prior programmes scheduled.
The police had served Bhat a notice directing him to appear for questioning at his residence in Kalladka on September 26. The investigating team wanted to question him about his alleged conversations with some of the accused, around the time of the murder.
According to reports, the investigation found that Bhat was in regular contact with some of the accused. The notice was issued to seek clarification and record his statement, they said.
The notice drew objections from Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Sharan Pumpwell, who alleged that the move was politically motivated and amounted to targeting Hindu organisations. Pumpwell questioned why Bhat had been summoned in the case.
Pumpwell also alleged an attempt to arrest Bhat in the name of questioning. He pointed out that two charge sheets had already been filed in the case and questioned the need for further inquiry involving the RSS leader.
Abdul Rahiman was murdered on May 25, 2025, near Irakodi in Kuriyala village of Bantwal taluk. He was attacked with deadly weapons while unloading sand from a pickup truck. Another man, Kalandar Shafi, was also seriously assaulted in the incident.
The killing came days after the murder of Hindutva activist and murder accused Suhas Shetty on May 1, 2025. The sequence of incidents led to suspicions that Rahiman’s murder could have been a retaliatory attack and heightened communal tensions in coastal Karnataka.
After Shetty’s murder, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts also witnessed several incidents of stabbing.
Shetty, who was facing criminal cases, was hailed as a Hindu martyr by the BJP and other Hindutva groups following his killing. These groups had also demanded an investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into his murder.
Police arrested 13 people in connection with the Abdul Rahiman murder case under the Karnataka Control of Organised Crimes Act (KCOCA).
Bhat has also faced multiple FIRs and legal proceedings over hate speeches and provocative public remarks. Cases have been registered in Puttur and Srirangapatna over speeches targeting religious communities and women. He has secured legal relief, including anticipatory bail, in some of these cases.
