Udupi: Five Youths Attacked, Three Sustain Knife Injuries

Udupi : A late-night quarrel at Malpe Beach turned violent after a group of youths allegedly attacked five persons, three of whom sustained knife injury, near a guest house on Tuesday night.

According to the police, the incident occurred around 9.30 pm near Blue Waves Guest House at Kodavoor village in Udupi taluk. The accused — Amrith Bhandari, Pragnesh, Punit Poojary, Abhijith and a minor— arrived at the spot in a white Bolero vehicle. The group picked up a quarrel with a group of youths who were sitting on the beach.

The victims have been identified as Santosh A. Amin and his friends Manjunath Saliyan alias Manju Kola, Dhanush, Latheesh and Varun. Police said the argument reportedly began over a personal issue related to the sister of one of the accused.

When Manju questioned the accused, they allegedly abused him in filthy language and assaulted him along with the others by pushing and hitting them. During the scuffle, Pragnesh allegedly took out a knife from his pocket and stabbed Manju on the left side of his abdomen, causing a serious bleeding injury. Varun and Latheesh were also injured in the knife attack.

When Santosh, Dhanush and others attempted to intervene, the accused allegedly assaulted them with hands and kicked them before threatening them and fleeing from the spot.

Based on the complaint, Malpe Police Station registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

The accused — Amrith Bhandari (22), Pragnesh (22), Punit Poojary (24) and Abhijith (20) — have been arrested. The juvenile involved in the incident will be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.

The arrests were made under the guidance of DySP Belliappa and Circle Inspector Ramachandra Naik, and led by PSI Iranna Shiragumpi and his team.