The D.K. district special squad has been able to unearth the conspiracy behind the murder of advocate Noushad Kashimji and arrest Six criminals and also recover the weapons, vehicle and cash.
It may be recalled that advocate Naushad who was appearing in court on behalf of notorious underworld element Rashid Malbari of D company was shot dead by some unknown assailants on the 9th of April at Sturrock Road in Mangalore city. This case had caused sensation throughout the state. In view of the sensational nature of the case and also likely links of the assailants with underworld elements, special teams were formed under the guidance of DIGP Western Range to nab the accused.
After careful examination of the scene of crime, information collected from forensic and ballistic examination of the body of the deceased and the crime scene, examination of the witnesses and other technical data, teams were sent to Mumbai, U.P., Bangalore, Goa and other places. They were given specific tasks to work on the leads so obtained. A number of persons were picked up from Mumbai, Bangalore, Madikeri, Udupi and Mangalore. Finally on the 21st of April the team obtained clinching evidence on the involvement of one person by name Dinesh in Bangalore. One special team was immediately dispatched to Bangalore and the team finally managed to track the suspect from BTM layout in Bangalore to Belthangady Town in D.K. district and successfully nabbed him there. On interrogation by the team he confessed to the commission of the offence along with two other assailants Rithesh and Prathap both of Mangalore. He further disclosed the presence of one firearm ( 9mm Pistol) and 06 rounds of ammunition along with two lakh rupees in cash, and a car which was used for the commission of the offence. The arms, ammunition, cash and vehicle along with his mobile phone and other valuables were immediately seized. The information regarding the other two assailants was passed to the team stationed in Mangalore immediately. The teams laid a search for the remaining assailants in the city and finally managed to nab both of them Rithesh and Prathap successfully at Kodikal, Mangalore at 0030 hrs on the 24th of April. On their disclosure two more weapons (9mm pistols), two rounds of ammunition and cash of one lakh fifty thousand rupees along with two mobile phones were seized. Along with the two, three others by name Ganesh, Subramanya and Shiva Prakash were also picked up from Mangalore, who assisted the assailants in hiding and evidences of the offence and also in giving shelter. The details of the arrested and the property seized is as follows.
1. Dinesh, 24 yrs, S/o Thimmappa shetty Nayatarpu grame Belthangady , Taluk
2. Rithesh, 20 yrs S/o Lakshman Kullal, Kodikal, Mangalore Occupation: none
3. Prathap, 26 yrs S/o Lakshman Shetty, Kavoor, Mangalore, Occupation: runs a canteen
4. Ganesh, 28 yrs, S/o Gangadhara, Kodikal, Mangalore, Occupation: Plumber
5. Subramanya, 24 yrs, S/o Ramaiah, Kadri, Mangalore, Occupation: Barber
6. Shiva Prakash, 30 yrs S/o Babu Bangera, Urva Store, Mangalore, Occupation: works in a marble store
Property seized:
1. Three 9mm pistols
2. 08 Rounds of ammunition
3. Cash three and a half lakhs
4. Maruthi 800 Car
5. Mobile phones, three
6. One gold chain
On subjecting the accused to interrogation they revealed that Dinesh was contacted by one underworld element Ravi Poojari and was given the task of eliminating Advocate Naushad for which he was asked to hire two boys who would be paid an amount of Five lakhs in all. He was also asked to collect the required weapons and ammunition from two different places, Aland in Gulbarga district and Bangalore City. On the 31st of March Dinesh went to Aland in Gulbarga to collect the ammunition. The ammunition was handed over by an unknown person. On his return from Gulbarga on 1st of April he got in touch with the other two Rithesh and Prathap and struck the deal on the 6th of April. He then left for Bangalore to collect the weapons and they were handed over to him by an unknown person there. On return from Bangalore on the 8th of April, the plan was finalized by all the three. On the evening of 9th April Dinesh called advocate Noushad on phone from a PCO booth on the pretext of the case pertaining to Rashid Malbari. Noushad came out of his house to meet them. At that time Rithesh and Prathap who were waiting near the flat of Advocate Naushad, attacked him with the firearm and when it failed after firing two rounds they used the magazine end of the pistol to cause grievous injuries to him on the head. After the incident they fled from the scene. During the days following the murder they have moved from Mangalore to Bangalore and then back to Mangalore and have taken shelter at various places before getting nabbed.
Of the accused, three are also involved in other old crimes in the district.
1. Rithesh, involved in Cr No. 22/2009 of Urva PS wherein one person by name Sunil was murdered at Kodikal and a few other hurt cases
2. Prathap, is the co-accused in the same murder case above.
3. Ganesh, accused in Cr No. 117/2006, a murder case under Urva PS limits.
(Rithesh and Prathap are on bail in the murder case indicated above since one month)
Investigation is also being made about the criminal antecedents of the other accused.
The six accused and the seized property will be produced before the court today. Efforts are on to nab the main accused and underworld kingpin Ravi poojari with the help of State COD, State Intelligence and the Central agencies.
It may also be recalled that there was an allegation from certain quarters regarding the involvement of Police Officers in the Murder of Advocate Naushad. This was done with a malafide intention to demoralise and mislead the investigation. However the police worked with single minded determination and were not carried away by the allegations. The Govt. is being moved in the matter to institute suitable legal proceedings in this regard.
The teams that worked relentlessly in cracking this sensational case are Jayanth Shetty DSP Udupi and his team, Dharmaiah DSP Mangalore City and his team, N R Mukri PI South PS and his team, Venkatesh Prasanna PI DCIB Mangalore and his team, Srinivas Raju PI DCIB and his team, Ganesh Hegde CPI Udupi and his team, Harischandra DSP, Prakash PSI Mangalore Rural PS under the Guidance of DIGP Western range and SP DK.
DIGP Western Range has announced a reward of Rs. 50,000/- to the teams for the excellent effort. The informants in this case are also being reward of Rs. 50,000/-.
The police will not rest till the underworld elements based abroad are brought to book with the assistance of Central Agencies and people willing to assist the police.
It has been decided to constitute a strong force of over hundred young and skilled police men to tackle the menace of extortion and mindless killing by underworld elements. Special arms and ammunition and equipment are being procured for this purpose. The assistance of UP STF, Mumbai Crime Branch and Bangalore City Police will be sought to have seamless exchange of intelligence and joint operations against the underworld.
