Daijiworld Media Network- Chikmagalur (NM)
With DHNS Inputs

Chikmagalur, Apr 19: The Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) gunned down Mangalore based Kabeer on Saturday, April 19. The incident took place near the Sringeri checkpost on the Chikmagalur-Karkala state highway.​

Source say that the ANF police shot him as they suspected him to be a naxal. He was a resident of Jokatte.

Kabeer - killed in mistaken encounter

Salam - injured during Bajarang Dal attack, now recovering at hospital

According to the reports, Kabeer, a resident of Jokatte along with five others were transporting cattle in a mini-truck from Theerthahalli to Mangalore. The ANF officials – who were on night vigil – shot Kabeer dead, after the officials mistook the vehicle to be Naxals'.

The tragic incident occurred when they were stopped at the checkpost around 3:30 am. While Rafeeq alighted from the truck to collect toll receipt, his cousin Kabeer reportedly started running on sighting ANF personnel. The latter opened fire suspecting him to be a “Naxal”, killing him on the spot.

Panicking at the sudden turn of events, truck driver Pramod and Rafeeq fled the scene and arrived in Mangalore in another truck, while the ANF personnel nabbed Sheikh Ummer Farooq, who was still in the mini-truck. The fifth passenger, Sarfaraj, has gone missing.

Speaking to the media in Mangalore, Rafeeq said five of them were transporting 20 cattle from Thirthahalli to Mangalore abattoir after purchasing the cattle from a broker. When he alighted at the checkpost, “...the ANF personnel asked all the persons in the mini-truck to step out and seconds later I heard five rounds of firing and screams of Kabeer”. He and the driver  immediately fled, he recalled.

Stating that the vehicle documents were in order, he said his cousin and he were daily wage labourers, who had got into cattle business three months ago and were not into illegal trade.

Chikmagalur SP R Chethan said the ANF opened fire at the  civilians when they started running from the mini-truck.

“The ANF presumed they may be Naxals,” he said and added that one person has been killed and a case has been registered.

After the incident, when Kabeer’s body was taken to a hospital in Sringeri, his family members were assaulted by activists of the Bajarang Dal. They were threatened and told not to take the body to the victim’s hometown. The activists also brutally attacked vehicle driver Salam as he was about to set out with the body. 
 
After this altercation between Dal members and the family of the deceased, the body is now on its way to Surathkal. The incident has stirred much opposition in many sections of the population with the SDPI even issuing a press release demanding a CBI probe into the matter.

According to latest report, a complaint has been registered against the Bajarang Dal members,  said Chetan SP Chikmagaluru

SDPI, PFI press release :
 
SDPI, in the press release, stated that the incident throws up many unanswered questions. It said that there seems to be a conspiracy that was hatched before the shootout and added that Kabeer had a clean track record without any criminal cases lodged against him.
 
The release further said that this raises serious doubts on the way the encounter was carried out. The ANF had said that they shot at his chest, when they signaled Kabeer’s vehicle to stop and he attempted to escape. According to reports about the way events unfolded, after they stopped the vehicle, he ran; reinforcing their suspicion that he was a Naxal thus, leading them to fire at him. 
 
The SDPI release said that if he was running away, the bullet would have penetrated his body from behind. But he was shot from the front. The SDPI also suspects the involvement of Bajrang Dal activists and demanded that the government bring in the CBI to investigate the matter.
 
The Popular Front of India (PFI), in its release, strongly condemned the act saying the incident has led minorities to live in great fear.  Breathing fire against the RSS, the PFI said that since a branch of this outfit had attacked the family, it supports the theory that the Bajarang Dal is involved. It has also demanded a transparent investigation to reveal the truth behind the fake encounter.