Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, May 2: Home Minister G Parameshwara on Friday condemned the brutal murder of rowdy sheeter and activist Suhas Shetty in Mangaluru, assuring that the perpetrators would not be spared. He urged residents to remain calm and affirmed that law enforcement was fully engaged.
“We will not spare the killers,” Parameshwara said, speaking to reporters in Bengaluru.
“I appeal to the people of Mangaluru to stay calm. The government stands with you, and the police are fully committed to maintaining law and order,” he stated.
The home minister informed that the additional director general of police (law and order) had been deputed to Mangaluru and that a comprehensive report had been requested.
“The investigation is already underway. We are taking all necessary steps to prevent further incidents,” he said.
Shetty was hacked to death late on the night of May 1, while travelling with associates in a car within the Bajpe police station limits. The attackers, reportedly armed with machetes and swords, arrived in two vehicles and ambushed him.
“Mangaluru was returning to normalcy, but the recent mob lynching and this murder have deeply disturbed the district,” Parameshwara noted. “We have formed four special teams to nab the accused, and they will be arrested soon.”
Responding to the bandh call made by various organisations, he said: “We are working to defuse tension. No matter the background or affiliation of those involved, we will bring them to justice.”
In response to the BJP’s allegations of appeasement politics, Parameshwara remarked: “We do not condone any act of violence. It is our duty to uphold peace and order. We will not shirk this responsibility.”
On claims that some people were being targeted under Congress rule, he responded firmly: “Does the Congress not have members of the community? This is a criminal case — we will arrest those responsible. Giving it a communal or political colour is not right.”
Suhas Shetty, widely known as a rowdy sheeter and activist, was the prime accused in the murder of Mohammad Fazil, a resident of Surathkal, who was killed in broad daylight on July 28, 2022. That murder was allegedly an act of retaliation for the killing of BJP activist Praveen Kumar Nettaru.
Nettaru was brutally murdered during the height of the hijab controversy in Bellare, near Sullia, in Dakshina Kannada district — an incident that triggered a chain of revenge attacks and stabbings across the state.
Suhas Shetty had only recently been released on bail in connection with the Fazil murder case.