Karkala : The Town Police have arrested five persons including a young woman in connection with the brutal assault on Sudhir Rane, a youth of Bailur, while he was in the company of the woman of another community in a house at Banglegudda. Those arrested are Asif, Maqbul, Altaf, Davood, Kishore and Noha said to be Sudhir’s lover. Police have booked cases against a total of 13 persons.
It is learnt, Noha a resident of Banglegudda Devi Colony and Sudhir Rane were having an affair since some months. On June 9 Monday noon at around 12, Noha had called Sudhir on his cell phone and had requested him to come home as she had to say something. When he arrived there, the accused namely Abhid Hussain, Asif, Maqbul, Iqbal, Hafiz alias Usman, Imtiyaz, Ansar, Pajir, Altaf and Davood arrived there with lethal weapons and had attacked and kicked him, When Sudhir tried to escape he was caught hold of and locked up in a room, stripped of his shirt and trousers and his hair cut off reportedly by one of the accused Hafiz alias Usman. They also reportedly snatched his gold chain, cash, and Samsung Smart phone.
A youth named Kishore who was at the spot when the incident took place and had reportedly captured the happenings in his mobile, has also been booked for not informing the police.
Notorious criminals: It is learnt the prime accused Abhid was the associate of rowdy Banglegudda Sulaiman and an accused in the candle Santhu and Polali Ananthu murder cases. Another accused Ansar’s name figures in the rowdy list in Karkala town station and he is also an associate of Sulaiman. He is the accused in the case of kidnap and murder of a Kaup businessman on July 31 2011 after demanding a ransom of Rs 30 lakhs. The murder was executed in Shimoga and the body dumped in Tunga river. The accused Maqbul and Iqbal are maternal uncles of Noha.
Young woman trapped : Police investigation and checking of mobile call details had revealed that the statement of Sudhir that Noha had invited him was true. However, Noha, succumbing to some pressure had come to the station with a complaint that Sudhir had tried to rape her. This had given room for suspicion and on interrogation the truth stood exposed.
Was it an act of revenge? If rowdy Banglegudde Sulaiman was brutally hacked to death some time back after he was invited by a woman to a place near the Palli Shree Mahalingeshwara Temple, the suspicion is if Sudhir was grievously assaulted in retaliation to the murder.
The Bhajrangdal has strongly condemned the incident of attempt on the life of a youth just because he spoke to a woman of another community.