19 August,2016 08:26 AM IST | | Agencies
The 28-year-old and his friend were surrounded and attacked by sharp weapons by right-wing Hindu group activists as they were transporting three cows in a vehicle; trade dispute suspected
Udupi: In a gruesome incident of cow vigilantism, a BJP worker was killed and another person injured, allegedly by activists of a right-wing Hindu group near Hebri in this district Wednesday night.
Praveen Poojary
Praveen Poojary (29) and Akshay Devadiga (22) were surrounded and attacked by Hindu Jagarana Vedike activists with sharp weapons, suspecting they were transporting calves to an abattoir, a senior police official said.
Poojary succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Bramhavar, where his friend Akshay Devadiga has also been admitted but he is out of danger, informed Udupi Superintendent of Police K T Balakrishna. Earlier, the hand of VHP and Bajrang Dal activists was suspected behind the incident by police.
17 people were arrested and a hunt was on to nab the others involved, he said. The coastal districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada have been reporting cases of cow vigilantism in the last several years.
Trade dispute?
Meanwhile, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said prima facie cattle trade-related business dispute might be the reason behind the killing of the BJP worker.
Noting that he does not see a communal angle to the incident "at this point of time", Parameshwara said, "Some reason must be there, we will find out."
He said, "We don't know at this stage, but they are suspecting some sort of a dispute because of the trade, it is not definite, but they are suspecting." Parameshwara also expressed concern over repeated incidents relating to beef and cattle trade in Karnataka. "We are vigilant, we will definitely try and maintain peace and order. I appeal to the people who are trying to create this kind of disturbance not to do this because we are a tolerant society and we should
not create these kind of issues," he said.
