Cuffs on five, Karnataka CM promises fair investigation

MANGALURU: Five persons, including two women, were taken into custody by the Mangaluru city police in connection with the murder of Abdul Jaleel, 45, who was a store owner in Katipalla 4th Block, near Surathkal on Saturday night.

The police suspect Jaleel’s alleged closeness to a couple of women enraged some people who attacked and killed him. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai sought the cooperation of people in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in Katipalla by not heeding any rumours regarding Jaleel’s murder and said the police will conduct a fair investigation.

Jaleel was reportedly close to a woman, which led to a heated exchange between him and two other men on Saturday night. When the assailants attacked him, Jaleel tried to escape, but slipped and fell, and was stabbed to death.

There was a similar fight between Jaleel and some persons for being close to another woman, after which representatives of the two communities intervened, and the issue was resolved, the police said.

“We have taken two women and three men into custody,” a senior police officer said. Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar on Sunday refused to dwell on the motive behind the murder and said the police have to collect evidence to establish the motive.

Meanwhile, there was a commotion near Jaleel’s house in Katipalla when a group of family members refused to take his body to the funeral. They demanded that Deputy Commissioner MR Ravikumar visit their house and promise a speedy investigation.

Kumar held a discussion with the gathering, and assured them of a speedy investigation, after which the ambulance was allowed to travel to the masjid in Panjimogaru, where the last rites were performed.At the Mangaluru International Airport, Bommai called the murder unfortunate and urged people to maintain peace.