Mangaluru: NaMo Birgade leader denied anticipatory bail in RTI activist murder

Mangaluru, Apr 29: The Second Additional Sessions Court in Mangaluru has rejected the anticipatory bail application of Hindutva leader Naresh Shenoy, the supposed master behind the gruesome murder of the RTI activist Vinayak Baliga.

Naresh Shenoy was the founder of the Mangaluru unit of NaMo Brigade, which is now known as Yuva Brigade.

The murder took place on March 21 and the accused has been absconding since March 25. Even though he has been able to file an application for anticipatory bail through his lawyer, the police have been unable to apprehend either him or a co-accused Shrikanth who also have been at large.

Welcoming the court's decision, Narendra Nayak, a social activist, said that while the aged parents of Baliga and his unmarried sisters shed their silent tears in helplessness, those who are behind the crime are busy manipulating things to mislead the trial.

“The very fact that the accused Naresh Shenoy has been able to evade arrest shows the inefficiency of the Mangalore police,” he said.

Protest march on May 2

He said that several like minded organisations and activists have planned to stage a protest march on May 2 at 3.30 p.m. from the place where Vinayak Baliga was murdered.

The march will be via Kodiyalbail, Vithoba temple road, Temple square, Bhavanthi Street to the Police commissioner's office, where the agitators will present a memorandum to the top cop.