The Karnataka Police Department has suspended three officers, including an Inspector, for negligence in connection with the Hindutva mob lynching of a mentally unwell Muslim man from Kerala in Mangaluru.
This comes after Muslim organisations and political parties accused the police of attempting to hush up the lynching incident.
The department has suspended Shivakumar, the Inspector attached to the Mangaluru Rural Police Station, Head Constable P. Chandra, and Constable Yallalinga.
The case was initially registered as an unnatural death (UDR) despite reports of a brutal assault, and it was alleged that Inspector Shivakumar only reclassified it as a murder case after the incident sparked controversy.
The suspension order alleged that the police officers, including Inspector Shivakumar, were negligent in handling the case of the mob lynching and failed to properly report and escalate the incident to higher authorities.
“Despite prior knowledge about the incident, the Mangaluru Rural Police Station’s UDR No. 14/2025 registered the case based on the statements of the complainants and the post-mortem of the body,” said the order.
“Despite having all the information, the Police Inspector of Mangaluru Rural did not inform the higher authorities about the group killing,” they added.
Ashraf, originally from Kottakkal but residing with his family in Pulpally, Wayanad, was attacked on Sunday, April 27, near the Batra Kallurthi temple in Kudupu, Mangaluru, while watching a local cricket match.
According to witnesses, the violence began after Ashraf drank a cup of water that had been kept by a nearby group playing. One of the accused, identified as Sachin T., confronted him. Soon after, a group allegedly led by Ravindra Nayak—husband of BJP corporator Sangeetha Nayak—assaulted Ashraf using a cricket bat and other weapons.
Despite efforts by bystanders to intervene, the mob, allegedly affiliated with a Hindutva club called “Samrat Guys,” continued the assault until Ashraf collapsed.
Following Ashraf’s death, the perpetrators circulated a claim that he had shouted “Pakistan Zindabad” during the match in an apparent attempt to justify the lynching, a claim widely rejected as a fabrication by Hindutva groups to rationalize communal violence.
The post-mortem report from Wenlock District Hospital revealed Ashraf died from internal bleeding and shock due to deep injuries to his head, limbs, back, buttocks, and genitals, caused by wooden logs and blunt force trauma.
So far, 20 individuals have been arrested in connection with the case, including Sachin T., a 26-year-old resident of Thiruvail village, who is alleged to have initiated the assault, which escalated as 25 to 30 others joined in.
The arrests were made based on pictures and videos circulated on social media, and a search is ongoing for the remaining accused, following a complaint filed by Deepak Kumar of Kulshekar.
Earlier, CPI-M leader Muneer Katipalla claimed the police tried to suppress the case, pointing to the initial FIR filed by an accused, Manjunath, who reported an “unidentified body” to mislead the investigation.
A lookout notice suggesting the victim died due to intoxication or a fall was also criticised as an attempt to obscure the mob lynching.
The Dakshina Kannada Congress Committee accused Mangaluru Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal and Inspector Shivakumar of providing false information about the cause of death, delaying arrests, and mishandling the case.
Social worker PMA Khader also said the police’s 36-hour silence and delayed post-mortem (32 hours) fueled suspicions of a cover-up, especially.
