Now Reading: Former panchayat chief murdered in Udupi over contract dispute: police
-
01
Former panchayat chief murdered in Udupi over contract dispute: police
Former panchayat chief murdered in Udupi over contract dispute: police
Udupi police on Saturday arrested three men for the August 7 murder of David D'Souza, former president of Mudarangadi Gram Panchayat. Superintendent of Police Hariram Shankar said the killing was a supari…
The Story in Brief
Udupi police on Saturday arrested three men for the August 7 murder of David D'Souza, former president of Mudarangadi Gram Panchayat. Superintendent of Police Hariram Shankar said the killing was a supari (contract) hit linked to a ₹2-3 crore dispute over a contract with Udupi Power Corporation Ltd. One accused, Raju, has 26 prior cases across five states and reportedly received over ₹2 lakh to shoot D'Souza.
CCTV footage shows one assailant approaching D'Souza from behind outside St. Francis Xavier Church in Pilar, hitting him and then shooting him at close range. The other two accused are Ajay Rastogi alias Anmol (eight cases in four states) and Ziaul Vazul Sheikh (12 cases including robbery and dacoity). Police said the trio were not well acquainted and used false names. Investigators are tracing the source of payment and the supplier of the motorcycle used. Borders were sealed after the murder, and over 500 personnel were deployed.
The Indian Opinion
The claim that this murder was purely a business rivalry oversimplifies a complex web of criminal networks spanning multiple states. Police say the three accused, all from different states with dozens of prior cases, barely knew each other and used fake names. This points to a hired-gun system, not a simple contract fight. The real question is who paid ₹2 lakh into the shooter's account. Until that mastermind is caught, talk of a lone dispute is incomplete.
Source: thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
