Published Nov 17, 2023 | 12:40 AM ⚊ Updated Nov 17, 2023 | 12:40 AM
Victim Aynaz and accused Praveen Arun Chougule. (Supplied)
High drama unfolded near the house of the four murder victims in Trupti Nagar in Nejaru near Malpe in the Udupi district of Karnataka on Thursday, 16 November when a group of minority-community members gathered and confronted the police.
The group demanded that the cops hand over the accused, Praveen Arun Chougule, to them so that they could teach him a lesson.
The Udupi district police had to resort to a mild lathi-charge and caning to disperse the crowd.
Accused Praveen Arun Chougule. (Supplied)
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 cops on Thursday had taken him to the location of the crime for a spot inquest and to recreate the scene.
Having got wind of the fact, hundreds of people — including neighbours and friends of the aggrieved family — from nearby areas of Trupti Nagar had already gathered around Mohammed Noor’s house where the murders had taken place on Sunday.
The people roamed around the area since 11 am, waiting for the police. However, the cops came around 4.30 pm in a tempo traveller as they suspected there could be a law-and-order issue in the area.
A couple of Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) platoons were deployed in the area when the police teams came with Praveen for the spot inquest.
The moment the accused arrived with the police, the community members staged a protest, surrounding the police vehicle and asking the cops to hand Praveen over to them.
“He has done this to members of our community. He will get life imprisonment. We don’t want that. Hand him over to us and we will show you how it is done,” an angry agitator apparently told the police, who were attempting to control the crowd.
As the police walked Praveen into the house, people from the crowd yelled and hurled abuses at him. They also demanded that the police unmask him so they could see his face.
The cops whisked him inside the house and conducted the spot inquest for nearly an hour. By that time, the crowd had swelled enough to block almost all roads leading to the house.
Around 5.30 pm, soon after the inquest was over, Praveen was bundled into the tempo traveller. While the vehicle was leaving the area, the crowd — including women — staged a sit-in protest and shouted slogans for justice.
As men ran next to the police vehicle, the cops resorted to mild caning to disperse the crowd.
A relative of the murder victims, Hussain, told South First that the news had spread that Praveen was a 39-year-old cabin crew member who was married and had two children.
“He (Praveen) became obsessed with Aynaz, his colleague working with the Air India airlines and was just 21 years old — 18 years younger than him. He wanted to have a romantic relationship with her, which she refused,” he said.
“Having learnt all these, the enraged crowd gathered to intimidate him when he was brought by the police,” Hussain told South First.
Meanwhile, police sources said that there was a brief commotion by a crowd that was agitating near the victims’ house.
“The KSRP policemen had to resort to mild caning to disperse the crowd to facilitate the movement of police vehicles. We conducted the spot inquest within an hour and completed the legal formalities,” said a senior police officer.
