An FIR was filed against a youth in Karnataka's Udupi district for making a statement on social media, claiming that an opportunity was lost to "finish off" the killer of a Muslim family, police said on Monday. The accused, identified as Hafeez Muhammad from Shivamogga, faces a suo motu case under section 155 (liability of a person for whose benefit a riot is committed) and 505 (2) (making or circulating false statements or information with specific intent) of Indian Penal Code.
In the post, the accused mentioned that the residents of Nejaru of Udupi district had missed an easy opportunity to lynch Praveen Chougale without preparations. The police said that the accused in a social media post, had stated that Praveen Chougale, who has been arrested on charges of killing four persons, including three women, should have been lynched when the police took him to the residence of the victims as part of the investigation. The case has been registered at the Udupi Cyber, Economics, and Narcotics (CEN) Crime Police Station, and police are on the lookout for the accused.
Earlier, an FIR was filed against the 'Hindu Mantra' Instagram page for 'celebrating' the murders.
The post, which glorified the act of killing four individuals, including three women and one boy from a family on November 12, claimed that “he had set a world record by killing four Muslims in 15 minutes." The photo of the accused, featured in the post, was adorned with a crown emoji. The Cyber Economic and Narcotics Police Station (CEN) in Udupi has initiated an investigation and registered a case.
Furthermore, the post said that no one had come forward to support the girls who were victims in the Udupi restroom video case, and it predicted a similar lack of support for the victims in this current case. The post implied that since no Muslims had condemned the incident in the Udupi restroom video case, where Hindu girls using the college restroom were filmed, "there would be no support for the victims in this recent case of the killing of four individuals from the Muslim community."
The police registered a case against the Instagram page for spreading communal hatred.
The perpetrator, 37-year-old Praveen Arun Chougale, an employee at Mangaluru International Airport, confessed that issues related to friendship, love for Aynaz, and financial matters motivated him to commit the heinous crime. He killed Haseena (46), Afnan (23), Aynaz (21) and Aseem (12) at their residence on November 12.
