Mangaluru: Suhas Shetty, a Hindutva activist and rowdy-sheeter, was brutally hacked to death with machetes by a gang of miscreants in Kinnipadavu near Bajpe on Thursday night, according to police sources.
Shetty had five criminal cases registered against him — four within Mangaluru city limits and one in Belthangady, Dakshina Kannada. He had been acquitted in multiple cases, including ones filed in 2016 and 2020 under various IPC sections. In contrast, he had been convicted in a 2016 case under IPC Section 160 at Belthangady police station. Two major cases against him — a 2020 attempted murder and SC/ST Atrocities Act case, and his alleged involvement in the 2022 Fazil murder case in Surathkal — are currently under trial.
The murder took place around 8:27 PM when Shetty was traveling in an Innova car with associates — Sanjay, Prajwal, Anvith, Latheesh, and Shashank. A group of attackers in a Swift car and pickup truck ambushed them in Kinnipadavu. Shetty sustained severe injuries and was rushed to A.J. Hospital, where he was declared dead. One of his companions was also injured and is undergoing treatment.
A murder case has been filed at the Bajpe police station, and four special investigation teams have been constituted under an Assistant Commissioner of Police to probe the case.
In the wake of the incident, Mangaluru city was placed under heightened security. Barricades and checkpoints were set up overnight. Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal confirmed that senior officers from outside districts had been brought in to ensure law and order in the city.
The murder has reignited concerns about communal tensions in the coastal region, which has seen a series of tit-for-tat killings in recent years. The atmosphere remains tense, with many recalling the volatile period following BJP leader Praveen Nettaru’s murder in 2022. At the time, public outrage among Hindu groups forced the then BJP-led state government to act swiftly to manage the unrest.
However, criticism had also emerged over the government’s handling of communal violence. The administration was accused of bias after it visibly supported Nettaru’s family while offering little acknowledgment or consolation to the family of Mohammed Fazil, the alleged retaliatory killing victim. This perceived imbalance had sparked concerns about selective empathy and uneven political response to communal tragedies.
Large gatherings of Hindu activists were seen outside A.J. Hospital following Shetty’s death. Political figures including MLAs Dr. Y. Bharath Shetty, D. Vedavyas Kamath, and former MP Nalin Kumar Kateel visited the hospital and demanded that the investigation be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), labeling the murder a targeted and premeditated act.
While speculation grows that the killing may have been an act of retaliation — possibly in response to a recent murder in Kudupu — the police commissioner said investigations are ongoing and no conclusion will be drawn until CCTV footage and evidence are thoroughly analyzed.