Murder of Prashanth Poojary

Murder of Prashanth Poojary
Part of Islamic terrorism in India
LocationMoodabidri, Karnataka, India
Date9 October 2015 (2015-10-09)
7:00 (IST)
WeaponKnife
Deaths1

On 9 October 2015, Prashanth Poojary, a Hindu man from the town of Moodabidri in Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka, was killed by Muslim extremists.[1]

Poojary, a 29 year old flower seller and a member of Bajrang Dal, was stabbed with blades by six assailants at about 7.00 am IST. As of 29 October 2015, ten people have been arrested in connection with the attack, allegedly motivated by Poojary's activism against the illegal slaughter of cows.[2][3][4] One suspect Mohammad Imtiaz Gantalkatte was arrested from Mumbai airport as he was attempting to flee India for Dubai.[5]

An eyewitness to the incident, 60 year old Vaman Poojary, a tender coconut seller whose shop was opposite Poojary's shop, went missing on 15 October 2015. He was found dead on the next day.[6] It has been alleged by Nalin Kumar Kateel MP from Dakshina Kannada constituency to which the town of Moodabidri belongs that witnesses were being threatened over international phone calls including those made from Pakistan and asked not to testify against the suspects.[7] The Karnataka government also revealed that its minister Abhayachandra Jain received threats Karnataka police consider this murder as a part of a conspiracy to incite communal hatred in the region.[8]

A Zee News talk show titled "Cow slaughter: Protests against Dadri lynching, why silence over Prashanth Poojary's murder?" commented on the absence of media attention as regards to the murder.[9] Vishwesha Teertha head of the Sri Pejavara Adokshaja Matha has similarly asserted bias on the part of a section of writers for their selective outrage to criminal incidents exemplified by their silence on Poojary's killing.[10]

  1. ^ "Poojary murder: Karnataka minister seen in photo with accused". Hindustan Times. 2015-10-23. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  2. ^ "Another arrested in Prashanth Poojary murder case". The Times of India. Mangalore. 29 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  3. ^ Prakash, Satya (2015-10-21). "Four more arrested in anti-beef activist Prashanth Poojary murder case". India Today. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  4. ^ M., Raghav (2015-10-10). "Tension in Moodbidri after murder". Times of India. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  5. ^ "Prashanth Poojary murder case: Man arrested in Mumbai while fleeing to Dubai". India Today. 2015-10-24. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  6. ^ "Eyewitness in Moodbidri Murder Found Dead". The New Indian Express. 2015-10-16. Archived from the original on October 20, 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  7. ^ Jayram, Anand (2015-10-18). "Karnataka Bajrang Dal activist's murder gets 'Pak' twist". India Today. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  8. ^ "Chhota Shakeel Man Held for Plot to Kill Sangh Neta, Cause Mayhem". The New Indian Express. 2015-11-19. Archived from the original on November 26, 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  9. ^ Cow slaughter: Protests against Dadri lynching, why silence over Prashanth Poojary's murder? (in Hindi). 2015-10-18. Retrieved 2015-10-21. On one hand, nationwide protests are being held against Mohammad Akhlaq's lynching for eating beef while on the other hand the case of Prashanth Poojary who worked to stop illegal slaughter and smuggling of cows, has been totally ignored.
  10. ^ Uppar, Ravindra (2015-10-20). "If Dadri killing become national issue why Moodbidri not?- Pejawar seer". Times of India. Retrieved 21 October 2015.