Killing of Praveen Poojary
| Date | 17 August 2016 |
|---|---|
| Location | Kegige (Hebri police limits) / Kenjur, Brahmavar |
| District | Udupi |
| State | Karnataka |
| Coordinates | 13.4040°N 74.7070°E View on OpenStreetMap |
| Victims |
|
| Killed | 1 |
| Injured | 1 |
| Alleged trigger | Cattle transport |
| Allegation | Suspicion that calves being carried in a tempo were being taken for slaughter |
| Legal status | 18 people arrested and charged with murder, rioting and conspiracy in August 2016; no later report on the trial was found |
Praveen Poojary was a 28-year-old tempo driver and local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker who was beaten to death in Udupi district, Karnataka, on the night of 17 August 2016 by a group that suspected he was transporting cattle for slaughter.[1][2] His companion Akshay Devadiga was injured.[1] Police arrested 18 members of the Hindu Jagarana Vedike in connection with the killing.[1][3]
Background
Poojary, whose age was reported as 28 or 29, drove a tempo that he often hired out, and was president of the BJP's local standing committee in Kenjur village.[1][2][4] Activists cited by Scroll.in said that cow vigilantes had been involved in eleven cases in the region in 2016, four of them involving Hindus.[2] On the night of the attack he had been hired to carry calves, accompanied by his friend Akshay Devadiga, aged 20.[1][2]
Incident
At about 9 pm on 17 August 2016 a group of men stopped the tempo at Kegige, within the limits of Hebri police station, and attacked Poojary and Devadiga with rods.[1] According to police, the attackers then took the two men towards Kenjur, Poojary's home village in Brahmavar, to show villagers that they had been carrying cattle, and Poojary died on the way.[1] Reports differed on the number of calves, giving three or four.[1][2]
Devadiga, who was hospitalised in a critical condition, said that a group of about 25 men had attacked them with iron rods after the vehicle stopped and that the man who had hired the vehicle fled.[4][1] He said the attackers did not stop to ask questions even after the two said they were Hindus. A police official told Scroll.in that Poojary had been singled out because he had grown a beard, and described the attack as a misjudgement in the dark.[2]
Investigation and legal proceedings
Police registered a murder case. Six men were arrested and twelve more later that night, a total of 18 members of the Hindu Jagarana Vedike; they were charged with murder, rioting and conspiracy.[1][2][3] A court in Udupi remanded the 18 suspects in judicial custody until 30 August 2016, and seven further suspects were remanded until 31 August.[4]
Superintendent of Police K. T. Balakrishna said the preliminary investigation pointed to cattle transport as the motive, as the suspects had claimed, but that personal enmity had not been ruled out.[4] Police also said they were investigating who had hired Poojary and where the calves were being taken.[1]
Reactions
Poojary's sister, Prameela Poojary, denied that he had ever been involved in cattle trafficking and blamed villagers who resented his popularity, while his father said Poojary had trusted his friends too much.[4] Former Udupi legislator Raghupathy Bhat condemned the attack, said Poojary had been a BJP worker for more than eight years, and called for the attackers to be punished.[1] The Udupi district BJP president said he personally believed the killing was over personal reasons.[4]
Jagadish Karanth, the Karnataka convenor of the Hindu Jagarana Vedike, denied that the organisation was involved, said strict action would follow if its members were found responsible, and told cadres to hand suspected illegal cattle transporters to the authorities rather than use violence.[1] Congress legislator Ivan D'Souza alleged that people claiming to protect cows were themselves involved in the beef export business.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 TNM Staff. "Karnataka BJP worker killed, friend injured by cow vigilantes for transporting calves". The News Minute. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 G. Vishnu. "Why the gau rakshak attack on a Hindu transporting cattle in Udupi isn’t as surprising as it sounds". Scroll.in (republished by SabrangIndia). 20 August 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "BJP Worker in Karnataka Killed By ‘Gau Rakshaks’, 18 Arrested". The Wire. August 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 "Udupi: Sister denies Praveen Poojary was into cattle trafficking". Daijiworld (Deccan Herald News Service). 20 August 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2026.