Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Mangaluru, July 1: A man accused in a 2020 daylight murder case in Mulki, who had been on the run for over three years, was arrested near Pakshikere in Mulki by a special team of Mangaluru city police on June 30.
The arrested has been identified as Mohammad Mustafa alias Musta, son of Moyiddin, a resident of Kemral, Pakshikere in Mulki taluk. He had obtained bail from the high court on October 19, 2020, but the Supreme Court later cancelled his bail on April 22, 2022, following which he absconded using a fake passport to flee abroad.
Mustafa was wanted in connection with the brutal murder of Abdul Latheef, which took place in broad daylight near Vijay Sannidhi highway in Mulki on June 5, 2020. A total of 10 individuals, including Dawood Hakeem and Mustafa, had been accused in the case and a charge sheet was filed against them. The case is currently under trial.
Investigations revealed that Mustafa had illegally fled to Oman using a forged passport and later re-entered India through Nepal in April 2024. A special police team was formed to trace him, and he was finally apprehended near Pakshikere. He was produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody.
A fresh case has now been registered at Mulki police station against him for absconding from court proceedings, entering the country illegally, and travelling abroad using fake documents. A separate case related to the forged passport has also been registered at Basavanagudi police station in Bengaluru.
Mustafa is involved in a total of five cases, including four at Mulki police station. Warrants are still pending against him in two cases registered in Chikkamagaluru and Udupi districts.