Mangaluru police on Tuesday arrested Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Sharan Pumpwell for allegedly making provocative remarks and inciting unrest following the murder of Hindutva activist Suhas Shetty earlier this month, officials said.
Shetty, a known rowdy-sheeter and Hindutva activist, was murdered on May 1 in the Bajpe police station limits in Mangaluru city.
In the early hours of May 2, Pumpwell, addressing the media, alleged involvement of "jihadi Islamic terrorists" in the murder and linked the incident to the banned Popular Front of India (PFI).
He also announced a district-wide bandh from 6 am to 6 pm that day, calling on the public to shut shops and offices in protest.
However, as the general public did not heed the bandh call, supporters of Pumpwell allegedly resorted to acts of vandalism and disruption in various parts of Mangaluru.
According to police, this resulted in damage to public property, disturbance of communal harmony, and a breakdown of public order.
The Mangaluru police subsequently registered a suo motu case against Pumpwell under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), a senior police officer said.
Investigators said that the accused ignored two summons issued under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and failed to cooperate with the inquiry.
He was taken into custody on May 27 and is being produced before a local court, the Mangaluru police said in a statement.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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