PFI workers murdered Praveen Poojary for attack on prayer hall: IGP

Madikeri, Aug 27: Kodagu Sangh Parivar activist Praveen Poojary was murdered by a group of Popular Front of India (PFI) activists in retaliation for a stone-throwing incident at a prayer hall during the torchlight procession organised by the Hindu Jagrana Vedike in Kushalnagar, Inspector General of Police (Southern Range), B?K?Singh, has said.

Praveen Poojary, an auto-rickshaw driver by profession was stabbed to death at Guddehosur in Kushalnagar taluk on the eve of Independence Day. (This is not the case of Udupi BJP worker Praveen Poojary, who was beaten to death by Hindu Jagarana Vedike activists for involving in illegal cow transportation on August 17)

The Kodagu police have taken five out of eight arrested persons into their custody in connection with the murder. The police are grilling the suspects. Three others have been remanded in judicial custody.

According to police the accused vowed allegiance to PFI. Those who are in police custody are M H Tufail (28), of Madikeri, Nayaz (32) of Hunsur, Mohammed Mustafa (34), working in Coorg Spices in Madikeri, Iliyaz (35) of Kushalnagar and Irfan Ahmmed of Hunasoor N S Colony in the their custody and have intensified their interrogation.

Other arrested PFI district secretary T A Haris (30) of Gondibasavanahalli, Mujeeb Rehman (22) of Madapattana in Kushalnagar and Shareef of Gondibasavanahalli have been remanded in judicial custody. Another suspect Mohammed Afreen is still at large.

Speaking to media persons, IGP (Southern Range) B K Singh said the police have seized one motorcycle, a car, two knives and 10 mobile phones from the arrested.

Nayaz was involved in a riot at NR Mohalla in 2009 and Mandi Mohalla of Mysuru in 2008. Thufail was prime suspect in an assault on B S Nandakumar, in 2012 at Madikeri Rural Police Station jurisdiction.

Murdered after procession

The IGP said the Praveen Poojary had taken part in the torchlight procession organised by Hindu Jagarana Vedike in Kushalnagar on the night of August 14. During the procession the Hindutva activists had allegedly pelted stones at a prayer hall and houses belonging to Muslims.

While Poojary was returning home after the procession, he was murdered at Bettageri road in Guddehosur. The murder was a retaliation for pelting stones at a prayer hall during torchlight procession, the IGP explained.

Suspecting that Muslims were abused during the torchlight procession, the nine suspects had decided to retaliate. Shareef and Haris had called other suspects at 8.30 pm and had questioned on what they were doing even after stones were pelted.

Under the guidance of SP P Rajendra Prasad and Kushalnagar DySP P Kumar, a team of DCIB Inspector B R Lingappa, Suntikoppa PSI Anoop Madappa, CPI Kyathe Gowda, PSIs J E Mahesh, A P Seetharam, DCIB sleuths Hameed, Thammaiah, Venkatesh, Anil, Yogesh Kumar, Niranjana, Vasanth, Shashikumar, Mahesh, Rajesh, Girish, Jose Nishanth, Sunil Kumar, Siddarth, Pundareekshaka, Ravi, Joseph, Samath Rai nabbed the suspects. The DGP has announced cash prize of Rs 1 lakh to the team which nabbed the suspects.