Mangaluru police on Tuesday arrested a beef trader from Moodbidri in connection with the October 9 murder of Bajrang Dal activist Prashant Poojary.
The police gave his name as Bhadruddin Gantalkatte, who is the brother of another accused, Mohammed Imtiyaz Gantalkatte who was arrested at Mumbai airport on Saturday.
With this, the police have so far arrested 10 persons in connection with the murder that took place in Moodbidri, 30 km from here. Prashant, a flower vendor, was among the Bajrang Dal activists involved in preventing slaughter of cows and illegal transportation of cows.
According to the police, Bhadruddin Gantalkatte, Mohammed Imtiyaz Gantalkatte and their five brothers are involved in beef trade in Moodbidri. There have been a few cases of illegal transport of cattle against them. A few years ago, one of their relatives was shot dead after he attacked a policeman with a sharp weapon that severed a part of the policeman’s hand.
The police are on the lookout for nearly 15 persons for their alleged involvement in the murder. “We are going on the right track,” a senior police officer said. The case of alleged threat to the lives of Ministers B. Ramanath Rai and K. Abhayachandra Jain from underworld operative Ravi Poojary, who accused the two of supporting accused in Prashant’s murder, had not affected the investigations, the officer said.
