Why Did the K’taka Government Replace Mangaluru Commissioner & SP?

Bengaluru, May 29 (NationPress) In light of a string of violent occurrences, including mob lynching, retaliatory murders, and numerous stabbings within the Mangaluru area, the Karnataka government has made significant changes to law enforcement leadership. The Police Commissioner of Mangaluru City and the Superintendent of Police (SP) for Mangaluru district were reassigned on Thursday.

A new SP has also been designated for the adjacent Udupi district.

According to statements from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), the administration is responding decisively by transferring senior police personnel from the coastal regions due to escalating tensions.

This decision follows the mass resignation declarations by several minority community representatives in Mangaluru district, who cited police inaction regarding recent violent events, including multiple stabbings and the murder of Abdul Raheem.

Anupam Agarwal, the current Police Commissioner of Mangaluru, has been reassigned with immediate effect. He will be succeeded by Sudheer Kumar Reddy, who previously held the role of Deputy Inspector General of Police for Intelligence.

Arun K. has been named the new SP of Mangaluru district, taking over from N. Yathish, who has not been given a new appointment. Hariram Shankar has been appointed as the SP of Udupi district.

Leaders within the minority community previously announced their intention to resign en masse on May 29, following the final rites of Abdul Raheem, who was brutally attacked and killed by a group of 15 assailants on Tuesday.

On Thursday, thousands of party members gathered at Shaadi Mahal in the Bolar area. Although leaders initially hesitated to resign after personal outreach from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, they ultimately faced pressure from the crowd to make their resignations public in front of the media.

K.K. Shahul Hameed, President of the Mangaluru District Minority Unit, stated that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called him personally, requesting a week's time to address the crisis.

“Siddaramaiah urged me not to make any rash decisions. In this light, we have postponed the mass resignation by one week,” Hameed said, urging the agitated members to remain composed.

“The community was already distressed after the mob lynching of Mohammed Ashraf. We had urged authorities to take action, but Abdul Raheem’s murder has pushed us to our limits. We are disheartened that such events transpire even with our party in power. This prompted us to contemplate mass resignations. However, after learning of our plans, CM Siddaramaiah stepped in personally,” he added.

Despite his plea, party workers remained resolute, demanding justice and insisting on their leaders' resignations. Yielding to public pressure, the leaders ultimately announced their resignations.

The communal tensions in Mangaluru district and the coastal region of Karnataka remain high following the murder of a 34-year-old man within the jurisdiction of the Bantwal Rural Police Station.

Additional police units have been deployed to oversee the situation, and authorities have instituted prohibitory orders across the district until the evening of May 30.

Abdul Raheem, a resident of Koltamajal near Irakodi, was fatally attacked by a gang of assailants on Tuesday.

This incident follows less than a month after the murder of Suhas Shetty, a Hindu activist and rowdy-sheeter, and it is believed that Abdul Raheem was killed in retaliation for Shetty’s death.

Muslim community leaders have organized protests in Mangaluru, demanding the immediate arrest of the perpetrators. They allege that the incident was incited by inflammatory comments made by Hindu activists following Suhas Shetty’s murder.

Abdul Raheem, who operated a goods vehicle and served as the secretary of a local mosque, is survived by two children.

Police have stated that he had no criminal history and was not associated with any organization.

Simultaneously, law enforcement has filed an FIR against 15 individuals related to the incident. Statements have been collected from Kalandar Shafi, a friend of the deceased who was present during the attack and was injured while fleeing from the assailants.