Pics: Spoorthi Ullal

Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (DV)

Mangaluru, Oct 18: Almost 10 days after the murder of flower vendor and Bajrang Dal activist Prashant Poojary in Moodbidri, the police on Sunday October 18 revealed that four persons have been arrested in the case.

Addressing a press meet at his office here, police commissioner S Murugan said that the accused arrested are Mohammed Hanif (36), a resident of Adyapady, Mohammed Ilyas (27), a resident of Moodbidri, Ibrahim Liyaqat (26) of Bantwal, and Abdul Rashid (39) of Mulky.

Among the four, Hanif is directly involved in the execution of the crime while the other three are co-conspirators, he said,

Murugan also said that apart from Hanif, five others were directly involved in the crime, and they are presently absconding.

"We have gathered information about the other five main accused from the arrested persons and done a detailed probe. We will arrest the absconding accused soon," he added.

Asked about the arrest operation, he said it could not be revealed as it was part of the investigation.

He also said that the arrested persons confessed to the crime during interrogation.

"Hanif and the five who are absconding were also involved in a case at Handelu on September 9 and another assault case in Permude on October 3," Murugan said.

Asked about the motive behind the murder, the police commissioner said that it was out of communal grudge. "Prashant Poojary was actively involved in a pro-Hindu outfit. There were many clashes and out of communal grudge, he was attacked. However, instead of seeing this case on communal lines, we need to focus on the fact that the youths were misled. My assumption is that they were misguided."

When asked if the arrested persons belong to any outfit or organization, he declined to comment saying it was part of the investigation.

About the role of co-conspirators in the case, he said they helped the main accused by supplying information about the victim, and giving them protection and food.

To a query about a viral WhatsApp message that claimed a builder's involvement in the case, he said, "There is no involvement of any builder. We have not come across any such thing during the probe."

Regarding the death of eyewitness Vaman Poojary who was found hanging days after the murder, he said, "Vaman Poojary had not received any threat calls. We have examined his call records and we have not found any calls from overseas. But he was disturbed after the murder and his family also said that he was depressed ever since Prashant's murder. There was no pressure from police or anyone else."

"The investigation in the case is still on and we will be taking the accused into police custody for further enquiry," he added.

He also said that after Prashant Poojary's murder, three leaders - Jagadish Adhikari, Sharan Pumpwell and Somanath Kotian - had filed complaints of receiving threat calls.

When asked if he would urge religious leaders of both communities to guide the youth in the right direction, he said, "Guiding the youth is not just the work of the police. We have already spoken to religious leaders on this. Our intention is to unite people, and hence people should also support this cause. All religious leaders should condemn such incidents and criminals should be ostracised from society."