Following recent ‘communal’ murders in coastal Karnataka, police issue notice to right-wing leader A K Puthila over proposed exile

According to the notice, Puthila must appear either personally or through legal representation to present his defence against the banishment proposal.

The notice warns that failure to appear will be interpreted as ‘disinterest’ in contesting the proposal, resulting in a unilateral decision based on available information.

Meanwhile, after images of the notice went viral on social media, Puthila’s supporters alleged that the government was attempting to curtail right-wing voices in the region. Puthila himself has not yet reacted to the notice.

Arun Kumar Puthila contested as a rebel candidate after the BJP denied him the ticket from the Puttur seat in the 2023 Assembly elections. He lost the elections by 4,149 votes to Congress candidate Ashok Kumar Rai.

The police notice came after the reshuffle of IPS officers in the coastal region, following two recent alleged communal murders in the area. Anupam Agrawal, Mangaluru city police commissioner, was transferred as deputy inspector general (DIG), Economic Offences Wing, Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Agrawal was replaced by Sudheer Kumar Reddy, who was DIG (Intelligence). Yatish N, Superintendent of Police (SP), Dakshina Kannada, was replaced by Arun K Hariram Shankar, who was SP (Intelligence).

So far, 11 people have been arrested in connection with the murder of right-wing activist Suhas Shetty. Shetty had five cases against him – four in Mangaluru city and one in Dakshina Kannada district. He was the prime accused in the murder of Mohammed Fazil, 23, in Surathkal on July 28, 2022.

On May 27, Abdul Rahiman, 32, a resident of Kolthamajalu in Bantwal taluk, was murdered while he was unloading sand near a customer’s house. His friend and co-worker Kalandar Shafi, 29, who was severely injured in the attack, is currently being treated at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital.