A murder-accused in Karnataka's Mangaluru, Suhas Shetty, was apparently murdered by contract killers who accepted money from the family of one of his victims, sources have said.
Suhas Shetty -- was reportedly associated with various local right-wing groups and had several police cases registered against him -- was killed on Friday. At least five men, who wielded machetes and swords, had attacked him on a busy road. The incident was caught on CCTV.
Sources said during investigation, two of the men arrested in the case, claimed they were paid to kill Suhas Shetty by the family of Mohammed Fazil, who was murdered in 2022.
Fazil's murder was widely believed to be a retaliatory killing following the assassination of BJP youth worker Praveen Nettaru. Suhas Shetty was the prime accused in the case.
One of the men claimed he received Rs 3 lakh and another claimed he was paid 2 lakh. The police are now investigating the authenticity of these claims.
There are questions whether money paid as compensation to Fazil's family after his murder was being used to carry out this crime.
After Fazil's murder, the Muslim Central Committee had decided to provide Rs 30 lakh to his family. The Congress, which came to power, had provided 25 lakh compensation to the family.
Following Shetty's murder, the police had enforced prohibitory orders banning large gatherings across Mangaluru.
