Bajrang dal worker hacked: BJP demands NIA probe

Tensions are simmering in the coastal city of Mangaluru following the murder of a Bajrang Dal activist.

While prohibitory orders have been clamped down in the commissionerate vicinity, hundreds of people are gathering outside Deepak Rao's residence in protest. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the matter.

Family, friends and other workers of pro-Hindu organisations have been gathering at Rao's residence demanding answers from Karnataka Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy. Protests were witnessed after Rao's body was shifted from the hospital quietly to his residence in Suratkal. Pro-Hindu activists protested over not being allowed to take the body in a procession from the hospital. Incidents of stone pelting and violence have been reported in earlier cases of processions.

Mangaluru town wore a curfew-like look with shops and establishments shut down. Heavy police deployment was witnessed across the city and heightened security was put in place at sensitive locations. Despite the Mangaluru police already making arrests, the BJP and other pro-Hindu organisations have asked for the case to be transferred to the CBI.

"Reign of bloodbath continues unabated in Congress-ruled Karnataka. Hindutva workers are dying like Guinea pigs," read a statement from the state BJP. The saffron party, apart from accusing the Popular Front of India (PFI) for the murder, has sought an NIA probe into the matter. Deepak Rao, a worker of the Bajrang Dal, was hacked to death by a gang of four people in Suratkal on Wednesday.

The Mangaluru police chased and arrested Naushad, Rizwan, Pinky Nawaz, Nirshaan on suspicion of committing the crime. The motive behind the murder is yet to be established. The BJP meanwhile, has accused the Siddarmaiah government of allowing the massacre of Hindu activists in the state, a claim rejected by the incumbent government as well as the Congress party.