Bajrang Dal Activist’s Murder: At least 8 arrested in Karnataka

At least 8 people have been arrested for the murder of Prashant Poojary who was a Bajrang Dal activist killed in Moodbidri in coastal Karnataka on earlier this month.

He was killed allegedly for trying to stop illegal cow slaughter by a members of Popular Front of India or PFI - a pro-Muslim group.

Mr Poojary on October 9 was attacked by 6 people in broad daylight in a marketplace. Poojary died the same day of his injuries.

Bajrang Dal Activist’s Murder: At least 8 arrested in Karnataka

This incident added to an underlying communal tension in the volatile area with allegations that it was related to the campaign against cow slaughter.

Earlier this year, he had been also charged with rioting after forcefully stopping cattle transport.

“So far we have identified 11 culprits, out of which 8 have been arrested. They were members of the PFI. What was the motive for to do this, it is subject to investigation and we will wait for the other three fellows to be arrested,” Karnataka Director General of Police Om Prakash told NDTV.

“It is very unfortunate. A cow protector was brutally murdered in an organised way by the PFI activist - no outrage over it. He has been ignored. His murder is not being highlighted anywhere. His life is as worth as Mr Akhlaq in Dadri. No killing should take place under any circumstance for any reason,” BJP spokesperson in Karnataka, S Prakash, told NDTV.

Last month a Muslim man named Mohammad Akhlaq, 52, was lynched by a mob in Uttar Pradesh’s Dadri allegedly over rumours that his family had consumed beef. Later forensic tests disproved the rumours.