Cattle trader killing: Amid manhunt, murder suspect appears in video ranting against Cong, JDU
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Bengaluru: The Karnataka police are in the haunt for Puneeth Kerehalli, the accused in the cattle trader Idrees Pasha’s killing, and the man himself can be seen appearing on a Facebook video, claiming his innocence in the murder and alleging the Congress and JDU for their political conspiracy to sway Muslim voters.
The police have no clue of his whereabouts, but he was able to post a 15-minute video, in which he can be heard ranting against the political conspiracy behind making him responsible for the murder of Pasha.
“After visiting multiple temples, my phone was switched off, and I only learned about the case after turning it back on. An FIR has been registered against me, but I am not afraid and am willing to cooperate with the investigation. I will answer all questions honestly and directly. Furthermore, I will continue to protect cows in the future,” he said in the video.
Despite his claim that he would himself surrender before the police to cooperate with the case, Puneeth has not made any suggestion to that end.
The video shows Puneeth admitting to being involved in the incident that took place at night when Idrees Pasha and his associates were being intervened by Puneeth and his group. It was during this incident that Pasha was murdered.
“On Friday late night, I live-streamed the incident on Facebook, and many people watched it. I stayed with the police until the cows were released at 5 am on Saturday. If I had killed someone, would I have gone to the police? No, we have not killed anyone. The answer will be revealed in the post-mortem report,” Puneeth added.
Idrees Pasha, a cattle trader, was allegedly murdered by Hindutva activists, and one of his associates was also physically assaulted.
The incident occurred when Pasha and his associates were transporting cattle from Mandya to Tamil Nadu and were stopped by cow vigilantes in Sathanur village in Kanakapura taluk of Ramanagara district. Puneeth Kerehalli and four others have been booked by the police in connection with the case.
Following the murder, members of the Muslim community held a large protest in Mandya on Sunday, April 2, to condemn the crime. Protestors rode bikes in a rally, and hundreds marched together on the streets.