Karnataka government to form anti-communal force, BJP warns against oppressing Hindutva outfits

The Karnataka government’s proposal to set up an ‘anti-communal force’ (ACF) in the communally-sensitive coastal Karnataka region has drawn flak from the BJP, after the police investigation into the murder of Hindu activist Suhas Shetty revealed that Rs 5 lakh out of the Rs 25 lakh compensation paid to Mohammad Fazil (killed in 2022) had been paid to contract killers to kill Shetty.

On May 1, 2025, Suhas Shetty, a Bajrang Dal member and prime accused in the 2022 murder of Mohammed Fazil, was himself murdered in Bajpe. The police who arrested eight persons including late Fazil’s brother (for Suhas’s murder) revealed that the compensation given to Fazil’s family had been misused to hire contract killers.

Home Minister G Parameshwara, who visited Mangaluru, along with district incharge minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, last Friday, to review the situation in the aftermath of Suhas’s murder and sporadic incidents of communal violence and protests, announced plans to establish a special ACF to rein in anti-social elements triggering communal violence in the coastal districts.

Former minister and BJP leader V Sunil Kumar in a scathing attack on the state government said, “As soon as the Congress government came to power in the state, it gave Rs 25 lakh as compensation to the Fazil family and they used this compensation money for murder. It has been proven by the police investigation that Fazil's brother gave Rs 5 lakh as compensation for the murder of Suhas Shetty,” Kumar said.

“How many more murders should this government compensation be used for? First, this money should be recovered with interest. That should be the first act of the ACF. Otherwise, it will be proven that the ACF has been formed only to suppress Hindutva,” added the Karkala MLA.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, while speaking to reporters, claimed he was unaware of any “misuse” of the compensation given to Fazil’s family.

Leader of the opposition in the Karnataka assembly R Ashok slammed Speaker UT Khader after the latter issued statement that Fazil’s family had “nothing to do” with Suhas Shetty murder. Khader who is one of the MLAs from the coastal district said Fazil’s family had spoken to him and denied their involvement in the murder.

“When did Speaker Khader Saheb become a judge? When was the law implemented to acquit a murder accused by considering the statement of his family members as evidence? Is this in the red constitution book that Rahul Gandhi recently demonstrated on the streets? What message does it send to the police if someone in an influential position like the Speaker gives a clean chit to the accused before the investigation? Looking at this attitude of the state government, it seems Siddaramaiah has decided to cover up the murder of Suhas Shetty,” said Ashok.

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, in his letter to Union Minister Amit Shah, has urged him to transfer the investigation of Suhas Shetty murder to the NIA. “This tragic incident is not an isolated one — it is part of a disturbing pattern of repeated murders of Hindu karyakartas in Karnataka under the Congress-led government. What is even more alarming is the continued appeasement & indirect support to radical elements & banned organisations like the PFI which also had a key role in the murder of Praveen Nettaru in 2022,” said Surya.

India