Siddaramaiah denies knowledge of ‘link’ between aid to Fazil and Suhas Shetty murder

Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said he had no prior knowledge of reports that a portion of the ₹25 lakh ex-gratia compensation paid to the family of Mohammed Fazil, who was killed in 2022, was allegedly misused to fund the murder of right-wing activist Suhas Shetty. He added that he would seek details from home minister G Parameshwara and Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister Dinesh Gundu Rao.

“I have to look into it. I don’t have any information. Dinesh Gundu Rao and home minister (G Parameshwara) had been there. I haven’t spoken to them yet. I will say after talking to them,” Siddaramaiah told reporters while responding to a question about the police investigations, suggesting that ₹5 lakh from the compensation might have been paid to the contract killers of Shetty. While the BJP didn’t issue a statement claiming this, some reports alleged that the money paid by Congress was used to fund the murder.

Suhas Shetty, facing five criminal cases in Mangaluru and Dakshina Kannada districts, including two charges of murder, was hacked to death on May 1 in the Kinnikambla area under Bajpe police station limits in Mangaluru. He was the prime accused in the 2022 murder of 23-year-old Fazil, a temporary worker at HPCL, who was attacked by four masked men in Surathkal on July 28, 2022. That killing had taken place just two days after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) youth worker Praveen Nettaru was murdered, igniting widespread protests and unrest across the region.

The previous BJP-led government under Basavaraj Bommai did not offer any aid to Fazil’s family following the incident. But in 2023, after the Congress government came to power, financial assistance was extended to four families impacted by the 2022 killing, including Fazil’s.

Police said that Suhas Shetty was travelling with five of his associates near Kinnikambla in Bajpe area of Mangaluru on Thursday night when their vehicle was intercepted by unidentified assailants, who then dragged the 30-year-old out of the vehicle and hacked him to death.

Police said that eight people, including Fazil’s brother, have been arrested in connection with Shetty’s murder so far. The arrested individuals are Abdul Safwan, Niyaz Ahmed, Mohammad Muzzammil, Khalandar Shafi, Adil Mehrooz, Mohammad Rizwan, Ranjit, and Nagaraj.

The Karnataka police revealed that Fazil’s brother, Adil Mehroof, offered ₹5 lakh to a group of men to carry out the murder of Suhas Shetty, with ₹3 lakh paid as an advance.

As political tensions mounted, Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya urged Union home minister Amit Shah to hand over the investigation to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). In his letter, Surya wrote, “There is growing suspicion that similar radical forces could be behind this incident as well. A central agency-led inquiry would guarantee a thorough, impartial investigation.” He also referred to previous cases in which the NIA had exposed the role of banned groups like the Popular Front of India.

Parameshwara, however, rejected the demand for a central probe. “It is their (BJP’s) opinion. Our view is that our police are doing their job very well. Eight people have been arrested in this connection, and the investigation is in progress,” he said, adding, “At this stage, there is no need to hand over the case to the NIA.”

He also addressed criticism regarding the government’s decision not to visit Shetty’s family. “Please know that this is a murder case. There were five criminal cases against him. That’s the reason that no one from the government, I mean the public representatives, either me or anyone else, met them,” Parameshwara said. Still, he assured that the legal process would be followed: “Already we have done our work and we have arrested eight people.”

The murder sparked unrest in Mangaluru, with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) calling for a bandh on Friday. Many shops remained shut. In response, Parameshwara and Dinesh Gundu Rao rushed to the city and held high-level discussions with police commissioner Anupam Agrawal and deputy commissioner Mullai Muhilan to review the law and order situation.

To curb the growing communal tension in coastal Karnataka, the CM signalled the possibility of forming a special force. “I will speak to the home minister about it (task force) and then I will let you know,” Siddaramaiah said.

Parameshwara confirmed that such a mechanism was being considered. “A police wing was required to identify and subdue anti-social elements,” he said, adding that an anti-communal task force would be constituted on a permanent basis for the region.