Karnataka Bajrang Dal activist murder: Probe points to local gang rivalries

The timing of the murder of the right-wing activist, who has antagonised Muslims in the region in the past with derogatory remarks against Islam on social media, amid the ongoing protests over restrictions on wearing the hijab by Muslim girls in schools and colleges is also under police scrutiny.

“There is no immediate motive that has emerged from the investigations into the murder. It seems to be part of a long rivalry between Hindutva gangs and Muslim gangs in the area,” a senior police official said while indicating that further investigations are on.

Harsha Nagaraj alias Harsha Hindu was murdered on the night of February 20 in the Doddapet police station limits of Shivamogga after he left home to have dinner at a restaurant with a couple of friends. A gang that was lying in wait in a car and an auto rickshaw hacked the Bajrang Dal worker to death with swords when he got separated from his associates for a while. Shivamogga witnessed a brief spell of violence the next morning when Harsha’s funeral procession was taken out.

The investigation so far has allegedly revealed that the main accused Mohammed Kashif (30), who was reportedly identified by witnesses at the crime scene and was detained a few hours after the murder, brought together the gang that was involved in the murder.

“We do not know what exactly provoked the murder of the Bajrang Dal worker. The investigations suggest that a rivalry had built up over a period of time on account of the Bajrang Dal activities that Harsha was overtly involved with, culminating in the hijab protests,” a source with the police said.

“There were many skirmishes in the area between the Hindu and Muslim gangs. Six months ago, there was an altercation between Harsha and one of the accused on the premises of a court and the murder could be a result of this incident. It seems like a case of local rivalry,” a senior police officer said.

Kashif, and three others accused in the murder – Rihan Shariff alias Kasi (22), Asif alias Asifullah Khan alias Chiku (22) and Abdul Afuhan alias Derar (21), are involved in as many as 16 crimes in Shivamogga since 2016.

In 2017, when Kashif was in prison in a case related to the rape of a minor – in which he was later acquitted – Harsha Hindu was also in Shivamogga prison for assaulting a Muslim youth in Doddapet, police sources said.

Kashif is also accused in four separate cases of armed robberies, assault and arson in the 2016 to 2017 period in Shivamogga. Another key-accused Rihan Sharif has 11 cases against him, including a series of eight burglaries between June and July of 2019 as well as three cases of assault, with the last crime having been reported in January 2021. His close associate Asif alias Asifullah was also involved in two of the assault cases, while Abdul was involved in one, as per the history sheet against Rehan Sharif.

The accused Sharif was out on bail in June last year in the assault case of January 2021.

Harsha Hindu had at least four criminal cases against him starting with a January 2016 case where he was accused of causing intentional insult to a religion through posts made on social media against Prophet Mohammed. The case had brought notoriety to the then 22-year-old Harsha Nagaraj which continued to grow subsequently on account of his emergence as a local right-wing thug, police sources said.

Harsha was also linked to three cases of assaults in Shivamogga between 2017 and 2019, including two against Muslims. In December 2020, he was arrested in a rioting case in the Shivamogga cloth market, where a group of Muslims were attacked, and was released on bail in January 2021.

In the days prior to his death, Harsha had been active on social media with regard to the anti-hijab protests by right-wing groups on some college campuses in Shivamogga. In one instance, he commented, “The saffron wave is roaring in Shimoga than the corona wave”, after posting pictures of activists protesting with saffron shawls against the use of hijabs in a college.

“It was a planned murder and did not happen on the spur of the moment. A lot of preparation has gone into it. Some of the arrested men who played supporting roles did not know the organiser of the attack very well. How the group was assembled for the murder is under probe,” police sources said.

In her complaint to the Doddapet police, Harsha’s mother Padma stated that her son had revealed a threat to his life from Muslim gangs in the region. “Over the last five years, my son was a Bajrang Dal worker. He was working for Hindutva and cow protection. The Muslim youths did not like him as a result. He used to say that he faces threats from Muslim youths of MKK Road (Adil and Pathan gangs) as well as youths from KR Puram Road, RML Nagar and Clarkpet. He used to tell me that many are going around saying they will kill him,” she said in the complaint.

Although the local gang rivalry angle is at play in the murder, the police have not ruled out the possibility of the involvement of a larger group. Sources said the role of outfits like the PFI, which have been involved in the targeted killing of right-wing activists, had not been found in the case.

BJP leaders like central minister Shobha Karandlaje and state minister KS Eshwarappa have sought an NIA probe in the case. Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra has sought a report on the number of cases in which the alleged killers of Harsha were involved in the past.

“Please provide a report on the cases that the accused have against them and on the manner they were treated by the police in the past. Please state whether police officers have acted according to the law in these matters,” the minister stated in a February 23 letter to the Karnataka state police chief.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that a decision on further investigations would be taken on the basis of the findings of the state police probe.