SDPI activist murder: UTK demands probe into links between accused and Kalladka Bhat

Mangaluru, Jun 25: U.T. Khader, Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, said here on Sunday that one of the prime accused in the June 21 murder of an activist of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) at Benjanapadavu on the outskirts of the city, who is at large, shared the dais with RSS leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat at a press conference here on May 28.

The Minister said the police should conduct a probe into the links between the accused, Bharat, and Mr. Bhat.

Addressing presspersons here on Sunday, Mr. Khader said according to the police, Bharat, of Bantwal, is one among the two prime accused in the murder of the activist and an autorickshaw driver Ashraf Kalai, 35. Bharat is said to be associated with a Hindutva group. Mr. Bhat had conducted a meeting in the city in connection with a May 26 incident at Kalladkka. Photographs showing Bharat sharing the dais with Mr. Bhat have been published in newspapers. The Minister said this has proved the allegation by the Congress that Mr. Bhat is linked to the untoward incidents in Kalladkka and Bantwal taluk.

Mr. Khader added that the BJP had conducted a block-level meeting in Boliyar in Mangaluru taluk in the evening a day before the activist was murdered. The police should also find out if there was any link between the murder and the meeting.