Bengaluru: A court in Karnataka’s Kanakapura on Monday sent five cow vigilantes, including main accused Puneeth Kerehalli, to police custody for seven days in connection with a case in which a Muslim cattle trader was allegedly beaten to death for transporting cows and buffaloes illegally.
Judge Appanna Savadi pronounced the order after the accused were produced before him.
Karnataka police arrested the cow vigilantes who ran Raastra Rakshana Pade, from Rajasthan on April 5 – five days after the body of 35-year-old Idrees Pasha was found on April 1.
The group headed by Kerehalli had waylaid a canter transporting cows and buffaloes in the limits of Sathanur police station in Ramnagar district on March 31. They had claimed that the cows and buffaloes were transported illegally.
On April 1, Pasha, a resident of Guttalu near Sathanur, who was in the canter was found dead on the spot. His family alleged that he was beaten to death by Kerehalli and others.
The family had lodged a complaint in this regard under IPC Sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 504 (intentional insult, giving provocation), 506 (criminal intimidation), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons), 302 (murder), 34 (criminal act done by several persons in furtherance of common intention).
A cattle trader named Idrees Pasha on Saturday was allegedly killed by a group of Hindutva members in Karnataka’s Ramanagara district.
The event has sparked agitation among locals and family members of the deceased, who are demanding justice for the offenders as soon as possible.
According to journalist Imran Khan, one of the primary suspects in the case has been identified as Puneet Kerehalli, who has been booked along with other suspects by the police.
FIR says: Idrees showed documents of purchase but Puneeth abused him, demanded rs 2lakh or else he will kill them. And said to go back to #Pakistan. He later chased Pasha& assaulted him as a result, pasha succumbed to his injuries. 2 associates of Pasha were also injuried (2/2) pic.twitter.com/zsnbq46i53
The deceased’s family members have accused Puneet and his colleagues of being cow vigilantes and have demanded Rs 2 lakh to release Pasha or else they would murder him.
Following Idrees Pasha’s gruesome death, his family members protested with his body, demanding action against Puneet Kerehalli and his colleagues. According to family members, Puneet mistreated and attacked Pasha, which resulted in his death.
The police have opened a murder case under IPC Sections 302, 341 (wrongful restraint), and 504 based on a complaint lodged by family members (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace).
The FIR stated that Idrees Pasha showed Puneet the purchase documentation, but he abused him and demanded Rs 2 lakh. Puneet allegedly asked Pasha to ‘Go back to Pakistan and then chased and beat him, resulting in Pasha’s death. Two of Pasha’s associates were also hurt in the event.
The police arrived on the scene and pacified the agitated family members before handing over the body for a post-mortem examination.
Who is Puneeth Kerehalli?
Puneeth Kerehalli is closely linked to Chakravarty Sulibele, the founder of the ‘Yuva Brigade,’ and Pramod Muthalik, the head of the Sri Ram Sene.
After news of the incident came to light, photographs of Puneet with several BJP stalwarts including Karnataka state ministers, South Bengaluru MP Tejaswi Surya, BJP national secretary CT Ravi surfaced online raising questions about his connections with the ruling Karnataka establishment.
SRINAGAR: The recasting and re-modelling of British era Polo View market has led the 35-odd traders to book losses in 2022. The project is part of the Smart City Srinagar project.
The exquisite flower shops, magnificent shawl outlets, the shops donning papier machie items, restaurants, and many other stores are all bearing the brunt of the market’s redevelopment, which is going on to turn the roadway into a concrete sitting space.
Earlier, the market had its own parking space to provide a hassle-free experience to commuters and visitors.
As per the Smart City Mission, the market would be decorated by installing benches on the stretch, which has been made a no-vehicle zone. The market would come up as a model for the redevelopment of other such markets in the city. The government has already spent Rs 5 crore.
The traders are unsure if the market’s mighty Chinars would survive.
Chinar Development Officer, Tariq ul Habib, said the laid guidelines suggest that no construction work can undertaken at a place nearby a Chinar.
“There has to be a 40 feet demarcation at a place beholding Chinar where construction work has to be taken up,” he said.
A shop owner said, “Customers are unable to park their cars. They have to park their cars somewhere else and walk to shop here which creates a problem for them. It is causing loss to our business.”
A parking space on one side of the market’s shops has now been turned into a road. Earlier, the shoppers as well as the owners used to park their vehicles in that space to access the market.
With the parking gone, the footfall to the market has significantly nosedived. The lack of parking space is adding to the mess. If the customers park cars nearby, they attract fines.
Mohammad Amin, a shop owner at Polo-View Lane said, “Since the Smart City initiative began, we have undergone significant losses. We have met with the Deputy Commissioner (DC), Srinagar and other relevant authorities multiple times during the past year.”
The deadline for completion of the Polo-View market is the end of February 2023.
Chief Engineer Smart City Mission Iftikhar Kakroo said that they area aware of the issues the traders have flagged. “The traffic that was passing through the Polo View is now diverted from a new road behind the same market,” he said. “Power distribution lines that were over ground have gone underground.”
In terms of reports of the slow speed of work, Kakroo said that the endeavour is at its finishing phase, as the path tiles are being laid. “For this venture, we were able to arrange for the activity to be done without hindering traffic movement,” he said, noting that the work will be concluded by the end of February.
Kakroo asserted that the store owners are supporting us and to their advantage each advancement is being monitored vigilantly in order to forestall any complications.
Regarding the parking conditions, he declared that a detailed parking plan is established throughout the region. “Chosen spots have been pinpointed to circumvent the parking dilemma for the retailers,” he continued, affirming that in the past the path was utilised there for parking objectives.
