Among SDPI’s 16 candidates, accused in murder of BJP leader

On July 26, 2022, Nettaru, a BJP Yuva Morcha worker, was hacked to death by two bike-borne attackers in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district. In the aftermath, the coastal districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada were gripped with communal tension. Nettare’s family has spoken out against the ticket to Bellare.

Puttur is considered to be a strong base of the BJP and Congress. The BJP has denied a ticket to its sitting MLA Sanjeev Mattandoor, to field Asha Thimappa. The Congress has fielded a new face, Ashok Kumar Rai, replacing the 2018 runner-up Shakuntala Shetty.

The SDPI’s declared aim is to defeat the BJP. Riyaz Kadambu, an SDPI state committee member, said the party believes Bellare has been falsely implicated in the Nettaru murder, adding that SDPI workers and followers will campaign for their candidate in the Assembly segment.

The criminal cases against Bellare include, apart from murder; assault, criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, membership of a terrorist gang or organisation etc.

A Puttur resident, on condition of anonymity, said Bellare was a good orator and spoke Kannada, Tulu and Urdu very well, adding that he got noticed for his speeches on religion and politics in neighborhood mosques. He was initiated into the SDPI and soon became an active member. He was well regarded in the locality and even Nettaru, who lived nearby, knew him. According to residents, there was no enmity between the two, certainly not to the extent that one could kill the other.

In its chargesheet submitted in January this year, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which has taken up the case and arrested Bellare, named him for allegedly helping the gang that killed Nettaru.

In his affidavit, Bellare has declared Rs 41,094 as his own assets, with Rs 1,53,053 against his wife Sabeena M’s name. He has also pledged gold in a bank and has availed Rs 2.40 lakh loan against it, says the affidavit.

The SDPI, which had earlier claimed it would field candidates in 100 Assembly seats, has ended up with 16 candidates.