The railway police in Karnataka’s Belagavi have detained eight people for questioning for their alleged involvement in the brutal murder of Arbaz Aftab Mullah, whose decapitated body was found on a railway track at Khanapur railway station on September 28, reported The Hindu.
Their questioning comes four days after police opened investigations into the matter. The 24-year-old’s family had alleged that he was murdered by men associated with Hindu extremist outfit Sri Ram Sena Hindustan who had threatened him for his love affair with a Hindu girl.
The police have also reportedly seized an ambulance with the words ‘Sri Ram Sena Hindustan’ on its windshield from near the scene of the crime. The Belagavi police who are scrutinising Arbaz’s call records has revealed that he received a call from one of the Sena leaders on the day of his murder, The Quint reported.
The FIR lodged at the railway police station in Belagavi names three people as accused including the father of the girl, Maharaj and Birje.
Arbaz was getting threatening calls from Ram Sena members for the past few months, a complaint by the family said. A while back Arbaz and some members of the community met with them and reached a compromise that Arbaz and the girl will not remain in contact. Despite this, he continued getting threats from them,” Arbaz’s cousin Sameer told The Cognate.
“Arbaz received a similar call on 26 September and they threatened to kill him. Two days later, on 28th, he again received a call from the Ram Sena. His mother had warned him not to go alone but he still went,” Sameer said.
His family also alleged that the Sena members asked them to pay a bribe of Rs 17,000 on the 26th of September. “They asked his family to pay Rs 17,000. They did not have the cash right away and were not sure whether the threats will stop even if they pay up,” Sameer told The Quint.
That evening Sameer received a call from the police who informed him that they had found a body. “The police first said it was suicide but we did not believe them because Arbaz was getting murder threats from Ram Sena,” Sameer said. “When we saw the body there was a rope tied around his hands. It was clear he was murdered”
Arbaz used to sell second-hand cars. He lost his father some years ago and was living with his mother.
TSS District President Arif Katgari said that police have sufficient evidence to give strict punishment to the men who murdered Arbaz. The group also sought a ban on Ram Sena, saying it was an extremist outfit that indulges in communal violence against minorities.
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Rushda Fathima Khan is the Staff Reporter for The Cognate.
