BJP Worker's Murder Triggers Massive Protests in India's Karnataka
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Political killings have often rocked Karnataka. According to The Times of India, 95 activists from different parties have been killed between 2000 and 2017. This February, a 23-year-old activist linked to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was hacked to death, allegedly by some Muslims in the state's Shivamogga District.
The Dakshin Kannada District in India's Karnataka is on the edge in the wake of the murder of a BJP youth wing member, with protests sparking in the Bellare, Sullia, and Bolwar neighborhoods of the city of Puttur.
Praveen Nettaru, a Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) [BJP youth wing member], was killed by assailants riding a mortorbike while he was returning home from his poultry shop.
"Three assailants had come on a bike. We have information that the bike had a Kerala registration number. We are scanning CCTV footage for clues," District police chief Rushikesh Sonanay said in a press conference on Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning, thousands of people protested against the murder after his body was taken home from the hospital. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a right-wing organization associated with the BJP which has considerable influence among the Hindus of the region, has called for a shutdown in the district and the vicinity.
#WATCH Puttur | Body of BJP Yuva Morcha worker Praveen Nettaru, who was hacked to death by unidentified people in Bellare yesterday, being taken to his residence in Sullia of Dakshina Kannada district
— ANI (@ANI) July 27, 2022
BJP workers and members of different Hindu organisations present#Karnataka pic.twitter.com/QUaKfuQ8Pg
#WATCH | Karnataka: "We want justice" slogans raised by many BJP workers protesting against the killing of BJP Yuva Morcha worker Praveen Nettaru.
— ANI (@ANI) July 26, 2022
(Visuals from Bellare & Puttur in Dakshina Kannada) pic.twitter.com/troB6yCjjv
The police have imposed section 144 in Puttur city while security has been beefed up in the nearby district of Udupi, which witnessed communal flare-ups in February this year.
According to the Indian Penal Code, Section 144 disallows the assembly of four or more people in a prohibited area.
Meanwhile, state chief Basavaraj S. Bommai called Nettaru's murder a "barbaric killing" and vowed to punish the perpetrators of the crime.
"The barbaric killing of our party activist Praveen Nettaru from Dakshina Kannada district is condemnable. The perpetrators of such a heinous act will be arrested soon and punished under the law. May Praveen's soul rest in peace. May God bless his family with the strength to bear this pain. Om Shanti" Bommai tweeted.
State home minister Araga Jnanendra urged the people of Puttur to maintain peace and calm after reports of stone pelting from the city.
"It is natural that there will be anger over losing a young man, but I request people to maintain peace," the home minister told local media on Wednesday.
Nettaru was a popular face in the district BJP and local leaders of the party are in shock after his brutal killing.
