Hindu activist murder: Karnataka to form anti-communal task force

The State Government will set up a task force exclusively to check communal activities that could lead to disharmony, Home Minister G Parameshwara announced in Mangaluru on Saturday after reviewing the law-and-order situation in the coastal district in the wake of the murder of a Hindu activist on Thursday.

The anti-communal task force, to be set up on the lines of anti-naxal task force, will have jurisdiction over the two districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi along the Arabian coast. The minister’s announcement came as tension gripped Dakshina Kananda district, of which Mangaluru is the headquarters, after Hindu activist Suhas Shetty (32) was hacked to death by a group of youth.

The task force would work in coordination with the local police. The government would empower it to deal with those indulging in and supporting communal activities, Parameshwara told the media.


There had been a repeat of incidents of communal violence in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, and the region often attracted national attention for this reason, the minister said. The task force would work towards restoring lasting peace in the region, he added.

The government would work hard to see industrial investments flowed into the region creating job opportunities for the local youth, he said.

EIGHT ARRESTED:
The Mangaluru Police have arrested eight persons in connection with Shetty’s murder.

The incident closely followed the lynching of Ashraf, a resident of Wayanad in Kerala. The police investigations, however, revealed that Shetty was killed in retaliation by a rival gang allegedly funded by the brother of the late Mohammed Fazil. Shetty was the prime accused in Fazil’s murder in July 2022, and was released on bail, last year.

The Opposition BJP has demanded an investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA)into Shetty’s murder. Dakshina Kannada MP Captain Brijesh Chowta has written to Home Minister Amit Shah and urged him to transfer the case to NIA for a thorough investigation.