VHP calls for bandh in Dakhsina Kannada; Police impose prohibitory orders in Mangaluru

Large number of policemen deployed at the mortuary of private hospital where body of 30-year-old murder victim Suhas Shetty has been kept. The body will be taken to Shetty’s native place in Belthangady taluk.
| Photo Credit: H.S. Manjunath

Following the murder of 30-year-old murder-accused and former Bajrang Dal activist Suhas Shetty on Thursday (May 1, 2025) night, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has given a call for bandh in Dakshina Kannada district on Friday.

Deputy Commissioner M.P. Mullai Muhilan has issued orders under Section 163 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Samita imposing orders prohibiting people across the district from moving in groups from 6 a.m. on May 2 and 6 a.m. on May 5.

Mangaluru Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal has issued the same orders, which will be in force till 6 a.m. on May 6.

Following the bandh call, all city buses, which Mangaloreans rely on commuting, are off the road. There are reports of stoning of two buses near Pumpwell Junction and a bus in Mulky. Most shops and business establishments were closed. Hindu activists were seen forcing shop keepers, who had opened their shops in some areas, to down their shutters. Autorickshaws were also off the road.

Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) R. Hithendra arrived in Mangaluru on Friday morning to review security arrangements. Additional security personnel are deployed across the city.

The 30-year-old Suhas Shetty, a former member of Bajrang Dal Go Raksha Division, was hacked to death by a group of six persons in front of a row of shops in Kinnipadavu, near Bajpe, on Thursday. Shetty was the main accused in the murder of Mohammed Fazil in Surathkal on July 28,2022. Fazil’s murder was two days after murder of BJP leader Praveen Nettaru in Sullia.

People came in large numbers visited the mortuary of the private hospital in Mangaluru where body was kept on Thursday. Mangaluru City MLAs D.Vedavyas Kamath and Y. Bharath Shetty also visited. Mr. Kamath held State Government responsible for Shetty’s murder and said Government’s decision to withdraw cases against SDPI and PFI activists as a major cause for the murder.