Mangaluru lynching | No confirmation that victim raised pro-Pak slogans: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara
Ashraf, who hailed from Kerala, was beaten to death allegedly during a cricket tournament at Kudupu in Mangaluru on April 27.
Ashraf, 36, was killed during a local cricket match earlier this week, with his attackers claiming he had been raising pro-Pakistan slogans. (Express Photo) While the people arrested in the Mangaluru lynching case have claimed they beat Ashraf, a daily-wage labourer from Kerala, to death for raising pro-Pakistan slogans, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said Wednesday that their claim was unverified.
More than 20 people were arrested after videos of a mob beating up the man were shared on social media on April 27. The lynching, according to the police, took place during a cricket tournament at Kudupu in Mangaluru. According to sources, Ashraf, who hailed from Wayanad district, had a brawl with one of the accused, a second fight broke out after some time and he was beaten to death.
Speaking to reporters, Parameshwara said, “I want to clarify that it is not my statement (that the victim raised the ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogan). It is an expression made by people who are involved in the lynching,” he said.
The police were yet to ascertain whether he raised the slogan at all, the minister said, adding, “There should be a witness who seconds it. We don’t know whether he said it. But the accused have claimed so during the investigation. This also requires to be confirmed.”
After the incident came to light, a body was found and the police registered an unnatural death case as it did not have any visible external injuries. A postmortem report said the man had died of internal injuries caused by blunt-force trauma.
After the videos went viral in Dakshina Kannada district, a complaint was registered at the Mangaluru Rural police station.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, who is in charge of the district, said the lynching was aimed at triggering communal strife in the sensitive coastal district. “It is the intention of some vested interests to bring disrepute to our government by creating communal conflict,” he said in a post on X.
While lauding the police for arresting the accused, he said the lynching “could be used to spread hate in the region. The police should not allow this.”
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