Dajiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Sep 8: Police have arrested two long-time absconding accused in connection with the communal riots that broke out in Haleyangadi, Mulki, on December 31, 1998.

The case, registered at Mulki police station under IPC sections 143, 147, 148, 436, 427 r/w 149, pertained to rioting and arson during the unrest. Among the accused, Leeladhar and Chandrahass Keshav Shetty had remained absconding since the incident. Investigators had filed a chargesheet noting their disappearance, and the court later declared the case as LPC (long pending case).

Recently, police received information that Leeladhar (52), son of Kukra Salyan and a resident of Parkikere Kemral, Mulki taluk, had returned from abroad and was staying in a rented house at Parkikere village. Acting on the tip-off, Mulki police arrested him and produced him before the court, which has remanded him to judicial custody.

Similarly, Chandrahass Keshav Shetty (59), son of Keshav Das Shetty of Pedupanambur, Haleyangadi, who had fled to Dubai, was taken into custody at Mumbai airport on August 30, 2025. He too has been produced before the court and is presently in judicial custody.

As both accused had failed to appear before court despite proclamation orders, separate cases have now been registered against them under sections 208 and 209 of the BNS.