Published Nov 18, 2023 | 10:31 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 19, 2023 | 12:18 PM
The celebrating Instagram post
The Udupi district police have cracked the case of the quadruple murder with the arrest of a senior Air India cabin crew member Praveen Arun Chougule (39).
Now they are still struggling to maintain peace, harmony, and law and order in the district, especially because a section of people, especially on the internet, has begun hailing the accused for allegedly killing four people — all Muslims — within 15 minutes.
The incident took place on Sunday, 12 November, and Praveen was arrested earlier this week.
The Instagram post
An Instagram handle with its profile name “Hindu_Mantra_” recently posted an Instagram Story of Praveen with an emoji of a crown on his head. The account captioned it: “He killed 4 mushilm in 15 minutes world record… [sic]”
There was also a sentence in Tulu, which can be roughly translated to: “For the Udupi girl’s case, no one had come or supported her, so we won’t come or support this case.”
The reference seemed to be to the case of a girl in an Udupi education institution being filmed in the washroom.
The police had refuted claims that there was a communal angle to the case, and even booked at least three people who shared misinformation and doctored videos.
Udupi’s Cyber Economic and Narcotics Crime (CEN) police registered a case against the Instagram handle for glorifying the accused.
The police have booked the as-yet-unidentified Instagram handler(s) of the account under Section 505 (2) (statements encouraging enmity, animosity, or ill-will between classes of people) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 66 (computer-related offences) of the Information Technology (IT) Act.
“We have written to Instagram to provide us with details about the IP address and the identity of the administrator of the handle. As the firm is headquartered in the United States, it will take some time for us to get the information from Instagram,” police sub-inspector Ashok Kumar, the station house officer (SHO) of Udupi CEN Police Station, told South First.
Udupi Superintendent of Police Arun K confirmed to South First: “The Udupi CEN police have registered an FIR against the Instagram handler, and the investigation is underway.”
However, he also said: “We have not yet achieved a breakthrough or made an arrest in this case.”
Praveen is accused of murdering four people from the same family — Aynaz (21), her mother Haseena (46), elder sister Afnan (23), and younger brother Azeem (14).
The four victims – Haseena & her daughters Aynaz, Afnan, & son Azeem
Asked about the exact motive of the murders, the SP told South First: “Preliminary investigations suggest the accused (Praveen) was an over-possessive person and the murders were triggered by his jealousy and animosity.”
The SP also said that the Malpe police had registered a case against a group of men who obstructed the cops while they were performing their duty — a spot inquest — on Thursday.
They had taken Praveen to the location of the crime in Tripthi Nagar in Nejaru in the district, and tried to recreate the crime scene inside the house.
However, hundreds of people from the same community as the victims gathered in front of the house and swarmed the cops and the accused when they arrived at 4.30 pm.
The crowd demanded that the police hand over Praveen to them, and also hurled abuses at him. Additional Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) platoons were deployed in the area to maintain law and order.
Around 5.30 pm, while the police were leaving the area with Praveen, men ran next to their vehicle, and the cops resorted to mild caning to disperse the crowd.
“We have registered an FIR against 20-30 people, booking them for obstructing public servants from discharging their duties,” a senior police officer told South First.
Meanwhile, the police in the neighbouring Dakshina Kannada district landed in controversy recently following allegations that they issued externment notices to Bajrang Dal activists in Puttur in the district.
The notices meant that these activists would have to leave the district and stay elsewhere until the time mentioned in their respective notices: They were forbidden from entering the Puttur jurisdiction till that time.
BJP leader Basanagouda R Patil Yatnal posted a message on X (formerly Twitter) that roughly translates to: “Hindu activists do not fear such deportation notices. Fight legally. Deportation notices have been issued to Bajrang Dal and Hindu organisation workers in many parts of the state. The government should stop the politically-motivated filing of false cases, inclusion (of their political targets) in the hooligans’ list, and issuance of deportation notices.”
ಇಂತಹ ಗಡಿಪಾರು ನೋಟೀಸುಗಳಿಗೆ ಹಿಂದೂ ಕಾರ್ಯಕರ್ತರು ಕುಗ್ಗಬೇಡಿ, ಕಾನೂನು ರೀತಿ ಹೋರಾಟ ಮಾಡಿ.
ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಹಲವೆಡೆ ಬಜರಂಗದಳ ಹಾಗು ಹಿಂದೂ ಸಂಘಟನೆಯ ಕಾರ್ಯಕರ್ತರನ್ನು ಕಟ್ಟಿಹಾಕಲು ಗಡಿಪಾರು ನೋಟಿಸ್ ನೀಡಲಾಗಿದೆ.
ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಪ್ರೇರಿತವಾಗಿ ಸುಳ್ಳು ಕೇಸುಗಳನ್ನು ಧಾಖಲಿಸುವುದು, ಗೂಂಡಾ ಪಟ್ಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸೇರಿಸುವುದು ಹಾಗು ಗಡಿಪಾರು ನೋಟೀಸುಗಳನ್ನು… pic.twitter.com/aCPk1eSvRq
— Basanagouda R Patil (Yatnal) (@BasanagoudaBJP) November 18, 2023
The Dakshina Kannada police were apparently attempting to maintain peace and harmony by sending away a total of 53 antisocial elements and rowdy-sheeters that they had identified as having been named in heinous cases in Puttur.
Rubbishing the claims of the likes of Yatnal, a senior police officer from the Dakshina Kannada district explained to South First: “This drive was initiated four months ago, in which a total of 53 rowdy-sheeters belonging to all the communities — Hindu, Muslim, and Christian — were identified. These rowdy elements had heinous cases — such as murder and attempted-to-murder — registered against them.”
He added: “Four months ago, we issued externment notices (deportation notices) to 33 of them through court proceedings, and all the 33 rowdy sheeters were deported from the district. The remaining 20 are being served externment notices this week.”
The officer then explained to South First: “Since four or five of them are associated with a particular outfit, the notices have been portrayed as activists are targeted. In reality, the remaining 15-16 rowdy elements belong to all communities, including Hindus.”
He added: “Our men processed the externment proceedings against all these 53 rowdy elements keeping in mind not their community but their criminal records. None of them are innocent. They cannot take cover claiming that they were targeted because they belong to a certain community.”
