Bengaluru:
The police in Karnataka’s Mangaluru have enforced prohibitory orders across the city after a man, a prime accused in a murder case, was killed late Thursday evening.
Suhas Shetty, who was in his early thirties, was hacked to death by at least five men using machetes and swords on a busy road. His murder was caught on CCTV.
He was reportedly associated with various local Hindutva outfits and had several cases registered against him, including for assault and unlawful assembly.
He was also the key accused in the 2022 murder case of a man, Mohammed Fazil, in Mangaluru. Fazil’s murder was widely believed to be a retaliatory killing following the assassination of BJP youth worker Praveen Nettaru.
Following Shetty’s murder, police enforced prohibitory orders under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita across the Mangaluru City Police limits.
The order prohibits public gatherings, meetings, processions, sloganeering, and the carrying of objects that could be used as weapons.
Preliminary investigation has suggested that the attack was premeditated, though the motive remains unclear, police said, adding that investigations are ongoing.
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said that four separate teams have been formed to track down the suspects.
“We are going to bring them to the books… We have taken this very seriously,” he told reporters today.