Following back-back murders that shook Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that he will soon visit the families of two of the deceased — Masood and Mohammed Fazil. Speaking to the media on Monday, August 1, the CM said that he plans on visiting Bellare village and Surathkal, where the two were from respectively.
CM Bommai also responded to allegations by JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy that he was ‘behaving like the Chief Minister of the BJP, and not the state’. The allegations came as CM Bommai visited the family of slain BJP Yuva Morcha member Praveen Nettaru, and not the other two victims. "Discrimination is not a concern because we are a national party. Let Congress and JD(S) look back on what they did while in power," Bommai said.
Further, speaking about the case being handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), he said that the process is underway. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, also known as UAPA, is being invoked and legal paperwork for the same is on, he added.
Masood, an 18-year old who lived near Bellare village, was hacked to death on July 19, by a group for rearing a calf. Days later, another murder was reported in the same taluk, when a few bike-borne men attacked BJP Yuva Morcha member Praveen Nettaru. The next day, on July 28, a man named Mohammed Fazil was killed in Surathkal. It is still unclear if the murders are connected.
A controversy broke out when Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai visited the family of Praveen before that of Masood or Fazil. He also handed over a cheque of Rs 25 lakh to his family from the state government relief fund, and also cancelled celebrations for the anniversary of his government in light of Praveen’s death.