Mangaluru, May 3 (IANS) Karnataka Police have registered 12 cases in connection with social media posts that either called for revenge over the murder of Hindu activist Suhas Shetty or appeared to celebrate the killing, police sources said on Saturday.
The First Information Reports (FIRs) have been filed at multiple police stations across the region — Mangaluru North, Mangaluru South, Mulki, Urwa, Barke, Moodabidri, and Kavoor.
According to police, the inflammatory posts — shared widely on Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms — have exacerbated communal tensions in the sensitive coastal district.
Some of the messages included statements such as: “We will not let the sacrifice of Suhas Shetty go in vain,” “If we do not show our strength, we won’t survive,” and “Blood is the answer for blood.”
Another post, featuring Shetty’s photograph with the word “Finished” and the caption “Next wicket will be taken soon,” has also been booked.
In response, the police have imposed prohibitory orders in Mangaluru until May 6 to prevent further unrest.
The region, which observed a bandh on May 2, is slowly returning to normal. Private buses — the main mode of transport — have resumed service, and shops have reopened under heightened security.
Security has also been tightened in the neighbouring Chikkamagaluru district also, with a high alert issued and vehicle checks intensified at the Kottigehara Check Post.
Sources said two suspects detained in connection with the Suhas Shetty murder are from Chikkamagaluru.
Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara arrived in Mangaluru on Saturday to review the situation. He met with Muslim leaders affiliated with the Congress party, accompanied by Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, who is also the district in-charge minister.
Sources said the Muslim leaders voiced strong outrage over the recent mob lynching incident.
The region has seen multiple stabbing incidents since Shetty’s murder, with reports suggesting that members of minority communities have been targeted.
Suhas Shetty, a Bajrang Dal activist, was the prime accused in the murder of Mohammad Fazil, a Surathkal resident.
Fazil was allegedly killed in July 2022 in retaliation for the murder of BJP youth worker Praveen Kumar Nettaru, which had itself sparked a wave of revenge killings and communal violence across Karnataka.
Tensions escalated further after the recent mob lynching of Mohammad Ashraf, a man from Kerala who was allegedly heard shouting “Pakistan Zindabad” during a cricket match.
Police are investigating whether there is any link between Ashraf’s lynching and Shetty’s murder.
–IANS
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