Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Apr 30: In a scathing statement regarding the recent mob lynching in Kudupu, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has accused the Mangaluru police of deliberately covering up the incident and shielding those responsible. The CPI-M has demanded immediate suspension of senior police officials, including Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal and Vamanjoor Inspector Shiva Prasad, citing gross negligence and a serious breach of duty.
Muneer Katipalla, CPI-M Mangaluru District Secretary, called for the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by an impartial and senior IPS officer from outside Dakshina Kannada to ensure a transparent and fair probe. He emphasized that not only the lynching itself, but also the police department’s actions in the crucial hours following the incident, warrant a separate investigation.
“The FIR clearly shows that the Mangaluru City Police Commissionerate attempted to bury the case,” Muneer alleged. He revealed that the Vamanjoor Police Station was alerted around 3 p.m. on April 27 about a mob attack near Kudupu’s Samrat Grounds. However, officers only arrived at the scene around 5 p.m., where they found the deceased's body showing signs of severe assault.
According to Muneer, by that time the police already had full knowledge of the assault, but due to the involvement of BJP-linked local leaders like Ravindra Nayak and Manjunath — said to be close to sitting MLAs — the police allegedly tried to minimize the issue to protect their political connections and public image.
The first report, shockingly, was filed by Manjunath himself — one of the key accused — identifying the victim merely as an “unidentified body,” which led to the registration of an Unnatural Death (UD) case instead of a murder case. A misleading lookout notice followed, claiming the man might have died due to intoxication or a fall.
“Despite media pressure, the Police Commissioner remained silent for 36 hours, simply urging the public to disregard rumors,” Muneer said. Only after significant social media outrage and interventions by political and civil society leaders on April 28 did the police order a post-mortem and file an FIR under charges of murder and mob lynching.
Muneer further criticized the second FIR filed 32 hours after the incident, which was based on a complaint from Keshav — allegedly a close aide of the attackers. The complaint describes the victim running toward the grounds shouting "Pakistan," not “Pakistan Zindabad,” and states that Manjunath, Sachin, and others chased and assaulted him fatally. It also mentions that Keshav tried to intervene but was threatened and later learned that Manjunath filed the first report.
CPI-M has raised serious questions about this sequence of events. “Why did the police take statements only from those involved in the attack? Why was there no suo motu case registered in a murder that took place in broad daylight? Why was the narrative of 'Pakistan' introduced only after a long delay?” Muneer asked.
He concluded that the series of missteps — from a delayed response and selective complaint filing to misleading public notices and silence from authorities — strongly suggest a coordinated effort by the police to downplay and distort the incident. The party insists that only an impartial investigation led by someone outside the local police structure can ensure justice in the case.