An FIR was filed on Monday against RSS leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat for allegedly making a provocative speech that could incite communal tensions during a memorial service for Suhas Shetty, a Hindutva activist and criminal who was murdered in Mangalore.
The meeting held on May 1 in memory of Suhas Shetty took place at the Madwa Palace Convention Hall in Kavalapadur village, under the jurisdiction of Bantwal Rural Police Station.
Police said Bhat addressed a crowd of around 500 people and allegedly made remarks that could disturb communal harmony.
Based on the speech made during the condolence event, police registered a case against Bhat under Section 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with statements that can disrupt public order and peace between communities.
Bhat has a history of controversial remarks. Earlier, on April 29, Bhat sparked controversy during a gathering at the Shrimatha Seva Ashram in Vorkady village, Kasaragod district, by urging Hindus to arm themselves with swords and knives, citing the Pahalgam attack as justification.
In December 2023, he faced an FIR in Srirangapatna for derogatory comments about Muslim women during a Hanuma Jayanti event, where he allegedly claimed Muslim women lacked “permanent husbands” before the criminalisation of triple talaq, using language deemed insulting and promoting religious enmity.
Shetty, a Bajrang Dal member, was the main accused in the 2022 murder of Mohammed Fazil in Surathkal.
He had five criminal cases against him—four in Mangaluru and one in Dakshina Kannada—and was killed on May 1 within Mangaluru city limits; eleven people have been arrested in connection with his murder.
In another incident, on May 27, 32-year-old Abdul Rahiman from Kolthamajalu in Bantwal taluk was murdered while unloading sand at a customer’s house. His friend and co-worker, 29-year-old Kalandar Shafi, was critically injured in the attack and is currently receiving treatment in the ICU.
Following violent incidents in the coastal belt, the Karnataka government reshuffled key police officials last Thursday. Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal was transferred and appointed as Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Economic Offences Wing in the CID. He was replaced by DIG (Intelligence) Sudheer Kumar Reddy. Additionally, Dakshina Kannada SP Yatish N was replaced by Arun K. Hariram Shankar, who was serving as SP (Intelligence) and will now take over as SP of Udupi district.
