Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Updated
Mangaluru, Aug 15: Confirming the arrests in the Sharath Madivala murder case, IGP (western range) Harishekaran on Tuesday August 15 revealed that one of the arrested men is a PFI leader from Chamarajanagar.
Addressing a press meet here, Harisheshkaran said that the arrested are Abdul Shafi (36), a resident of Sajipamunnur, and Khaleelulla (30) from Chamarajanagar.
Earlier, sources had claimed that three persons been arrested in the case. However, the IGP confirmed that only two have been nabbed so far.
Khaleelulla is the president of Chamarajanagar unit of Popular Front of India (PFI).
"Police teams were formed under 7 officers, namely ACP Valentine D'Souza, DCIB inspector Sunil Naik, Puttur inspector Mahesh Prasad, Beltangady inspector Ravi and DCIB inspector Amanullah. We interrogated 30 people and spread our investigation to Maharashtra, Kerala, Bengaluru, Shivamogga, Karwar and other places. We were able to nab the two accused with sheer hard work, persisting day and night. We also kept watch on jails in Mangaluru, Belagavi, Mysuru and Karwar. Our teams visited Chamarajanagar, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and other places.
"Abdul Shafi was arrseted in Bantwal while Khaleelulla was nabbed in Chamarajanagar. We have produced them in the court and asked for police custody," the IGP said.
"There are four or five more accused in the case and we will nab them soon. We have tracked down all the accused. There are two conspirators who helped the accused in arranging the vehicle and helping them escape," he added.
Asked about the motive behind the murder, he said, "It is premature to state a clear motive. We have to go into detailed investigation of the accused for that."
He also said that suitable reward will be given to the investigation team. Harishekaran personally announced a cash award of Rs 25,000 to the team and handed over the amount to SP Sudheer Kumar Reddy and ACP Valentine D'Souza.
RSS worker Sharath Madivala was stabbed on the night of July 4 at BC Road. He died in a hospital later. The murder provoked several protests from right-wing groups and BJP, and during his funeral procession, stones were pelted leading to clashes and damage of public property. The murder and the subsquent incidents took place despite Sec 144 being clamped in the district.