5 police teams formed to nab Mangaluru murder accused, victim’s last rites performed in Bantwal

MANGALURU: A day after the brutal murder of Abdul Rahiman (32), a pickup truck driver, at Irakodi near Kuriyala in Bantwal taluk on Tuesday, the Mangaluru crime branch and the Bantwal Rural police have formed five teams under Deputy SP Vijay Prasad to nab the culprits.

The police have also registered an FIR against 15 people, including Rahiman’s friends Deepak and Sumit, under various BNS Sections based on a complaint lodged by one Mohammed Nisar who spoke to the injured Kalandar Shafi in the ambulance.

Abdul Rahiman was brutally attacked with a sword and hacked to death on Tuesday while unloading sand, while Kalandar Shafi was severely injured. Abdul Rahiman and Kalandar were unloading sand from the pickup vehicle at the house of Eera Kodi Rajeev at Kuriyala village when some miscreants arrived on a bike and attacked them with a sword. Abdul Rahim died on the spot while Kalandar was rushed to a hospital.

Rahiman’s father said on Wednesday, “Whoever killed my son should be punished severely and our family should be compensated for his death as he was the sole bread winner. My son set out from home at 3 pm and never returned. Those who killed him should be eliminated. The house we were building is incomplete”.

After the post-mortem examination at the Yenepoya Hospital at Deralakatte in Mangaluru, the body was taken a masjid at Madani Nagar in Kuttaru were some religious rituals were conducted. The body was also kept for public viewing for some time.

The body was then taken to Rahiman’s house at Kolthamajal in Bantwal by an ambulance with tight police security. Police Commissoner Anupam Agarwal himself oversaw the security arrangement and additional police personnel from neighbouring districts were also roped in.

Some shops closed voluntarily along the route and there was slow-moving traffic on the national highway. A large crowd joined the funeral procession and the protesters demanded that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar visit the spot.

Hundreds of vehicles also joined the procession. At Suratkal, the protesters threw stones at a two-wheeler showroom and forced it to close. They also damaged the windscreen of a private bus plying between Kundapur and Mangaluru.

The last rites were conducted at the Moiuddin Masjid at Koltamajal. Earlier, members of the Sunni Students Federation met Dakishna Kannada SP Yatish and demanded the arrest of the accused. They warned of protest if the culprits are not arrested within two days.

Meanwhile, a social media post from the handle Target Boy threatened to eliminate Bajrang Dal leader Bharat Kumdel for the murder of Abdul Rahiman. Bharat is the prime accused in the murder of SDPI activist Ashraf Kalayi. Bharat has been receiving death threats for the last few months.

Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) R Hitendra, who addressed media persons in Mangaluru on Wednesday, said prohibitory orders have been enforced in Mangaluru and the entire Dakshina Kannada district. “The last rites were conducted peacefully and we thank everyone for their cooperation. We will nab the culprits soon”, he said.

Noting that additional police personnel had been brought from Udupi, Chikkamagalur, Mysuru and Karwar, the ADGP appealed for peace and called on people not to heed to rumours.

Referring to the social media threat post to Bharat Kumdel, Hitendra said, “We are already taking action, but there are some ghost accounts and some which are operated from abroad. Such provocative messages have increased lately and we will take appropriate action. He, however, evaded a question on whether Abdul Rahiman’s murder was a revenge killing.