1st Arrest Made in Karnataka Muslim Man's Murder; Cops Claim He's Owner of Car

The person who was arrested has been identified as the owner of the car that was used by the assailants.

A young Muslim man was stabbed to death by unidentified assailants in Surathkal, Karnataka on Thursday, 28 July.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

On Sunday, 31 July, the Karnataka Police made the first arrest in relation to the murder of a 23-year-old Muslim man in Surathkal on the outskirts of Karnataka’s Mangaluru.

Mohammed Fazil, a resident of Mangalpete near Surathkal, was stabbed to death on the evening of Thursday, 28 July. The accused who has been arrested has been identified as Ajeet Krasta. Police claimed that Krasta is the owner of the White Hyundai car that was used by the assailants on the night of the murder.

Mangaluru Commissioner of Police (CP), N Shashi Kumar, told ANI, “We've taken into custody the owner of the car used in the offence. He has given some leads to the individual who took the vehicle from him. Once his role is established, we will produce him in court.”

The Commissioner told PTI that more than 51 people have been "inquired into in connection with the murder." He said, "We got the traces of a car while scanning the CCTV footage - it's a White Hyundai Eon car. On the basis of footage and registration number, we had taken eight cars into custody and inquired its owners.”

Efforts are on to nab the other accused, said police.

Fazil was injured in the attack and died on the way to the hospital on 28 July night. In the purported CCTV footage, Fazil can be seen being attacked with sticks and being stabbed -- even after he fell down.

(With inputs from ANI and PTI)