Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (MS)
Mangaluru, Jan 6: Police have arrested four persons in connection to the attack on Basheer (47) on the night of Wednesday January 3 at Kottara Chowki here.
It is learnt that all the four accused have criminal background and were involved in the attack on two persons at Adyar during chief minister Siddaramaiah's visit in July 2017.
According to sources, the four have been identifie as Sandesh, Dhanush, Srujith and Kishan.
Out of the four arrested, two are residents of Padil in Mangaluru, one belongs to Manjeshwar and one is from Kasargod in Kerala.
It is revealed through investigation that this attack was carried out on Basheer, who runs 'Chicken Tikka' fast food outlet at Kottara Chowki, as revenge for the murder of Deepak Rao, who was killed by assailants on the afternoon of Wednesday, January 3.
Meanwhile, sources said that Basheer is recovering in hospital. He has sustained grievous injuries to this head and neck. His liver and kidney are also damaged. His recovery is also slow as he is a diabetic, sources said.
Attacked by seven
Basheer, a resident of Akashbhavan, had returned to India after working for 25 years in the Gulf. He then joined his friend's fast food business at Kottara Chowki. His friend used to go home early and Basheer used to take care of the business till 10 pm and then close the shutters and go home.
On the night of Wednesday, January 3, Basheer was counting the collection of the day at 9.50 pm when suddenly seven strangers who came in three bikes entered the fast food outlet and attacked Basheer with lethal weapons before escaping from the spot. Basheer who ran till the highway seeking help fell on the road. He was lying on the road in the same condition for quite some time. Shekhar, the driver of the ambulance that was passing by the same road and a person named Rohit got Basheer admitted to a private hospital.
Employees hid out of fear
There were two employees in the fast food joint when Basheer was attacked. One of them was cleaning the kitchen. The other person hid behind the backdoor out of fear of the assailants.
Innocent
Basheer is not involved in any undesirable activities and is not a member of any outfit, and has cordial relationship with people of all communities. Though Basheer was aware of the attack on Deepak on the afternoon of Wednesday, January 3, it seems that he assumed no one would harm him as he had no enemies. This was revealed by Hakeem, a family member of Basheer.
Appeal not to share video of the attack on Basheer:
The CCTV video footage that reveals the attack on Basheer has gone viral on social media. This was captured by the CCTV that is installed in a nearby shop. Mangaluru city police have requested not to publish this video in the interest of public good. Some TV channels have already aired the video and the police are preparing to serve notice to them. Police have requested that such videos, which may instigate further violence in the already sensitive district of Dakshina Kannada, should not be shared or published.
According to T R Suresh, city police commissioner, action will be taken against those who are responsible for leaking the said video that was captured on the CCTV of a private person. On the afternoon of Thursday, January 5 police confiscated the video of the attack. An inquiry will be conducted whether the footage was leaked after the same was confiscated by the police or not. If it is found that the police personnel were involved in leaking the video, then disciplinary action will be taken against them, said the police commissioner.