VHP Bandh In Dakshina Kannada Disrupts Life After Hindu Activist’s Killing
Mangaluru City Police Commissioner and Additional District Magistrate Anupam Agrawal issued a prohibitory order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), declaring the entire Commissionerate limits as a prohibited zone from 6 am on May 2 to 6 am on May 6
Mangaluru:A bandh called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Friday to protest the murder of Hindu activist Suhas Shetty brought normal life in Dakshina Kannada to a standstill. Shops remained closed, public transport was suspended, and school attendance was thin across the district. Although the bandh passed largely peacefully, sporadic stone-pelting and assaults prompted a heavy police presence and precautionary measures.
Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita were imposed throughout the Mangaluru City Commissionerate and the wider Dakshina Kannada district. ADGP (law and order) R. Hitendra and other senior officers were deployed in Mangaluru to oversee security. Check-posts were intensified, and liquor sales were banned in five taluks and the city to prevent misuse amid communal tensions.
Early Friday, a stone-pelting incident led authorities to suspend KSRTC and private bus services. Autorickshaws and taxis remained off the roads, while many offices and schools reported low attendance. Residents were urged to stay indoors and cooperate with police efforts to maintain order.
Shetty’s body was transported in a funeral procession to his native village near Karinja in Bantwal taluk and cremated that evening. BJP state president B.Y. Vijayendra, Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka, and other senior leaders attended the last rites.
VHP south division joint secretary Sharan Pumpwell described Shetty’s murder as part of a “disturbing trend of jihadi fundamentalism,” citing incidents of pro-Pakistan slogans and anti-national content. He said the bandh was meant to protest a “deliberate attempt to disrupt communal harmony.”
Tensions spread to Udupi district, where two men allegedly attacked an autorickshaw driver with a sword near Manipal on Thursday night. The accused reportedly confessed that news of Shetty’s killing had provoked them, Udupi SP Dr Arun K. said.
Shetty — a Hindu activist with a criminal history and an accused in the 2022 Fazil murder case — was hacked to death by assailants near Kinnipadavu Cross on May 1 night. Police believe the killing was retaliatory and warn of possible communal fallout.
Mangaluru police registered multiple FIRs after Friday’s unrest, including for stone-pelting in Kadri, Barke, and North police limits, and assault cases in Ullal, Kankanady, and Kavoor. Investigations into both the murder and related violence are ongoing under heightened security.
BJP leaders accused the Congress-led state government of failing to protect Hindu activists. State BJP President Vijayendra announced ₹25 lakh in party aid for Shetty’s family and demanded an NIA probe, alleging a pattern of targeted killings by radical elements. Opposition leader R. Ashoka warned that without decisive action, communal violence could escalate, calling for stricter laws against “anti-nationals.”
Health minister and Dakshina Kannada in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao condemned the murder and pledged a stringent investigation, while cautioning against politicising the incident. “Disturbing peace is a shared concern. We will act impartially and firmly,” he said.