Mangaluru: Mangaluru Police Commissioner S. Murugan, who visited the Central prison where two prisoners from the Chhota Shakeel gang were murdered, said on Monday morning that the gang rivalry seems to be the reason behind the attack, ruling out any communal angle.
The murdered prisoners – Madoor Yusuf alias Isubu and Ganesh Shetty – were brought to the prison as they were facing trial in criminal cases, he said. Though the commissioner denied any communal angle, sources said that a few days ago, the five accused men and Yusuf had an argument over a communal issue.
Meanwhile, Yusuf’s brother Abdul Rahim alleged that the prison administration failed to provide adequate security to his brother, though his sister-in-law had filed a petition before Mr Murugan two months ago. “She was scared that Yusuf would be attacked and it came true. The prison officials failed to take the necessary steps,” he said. He also suspected the involvement of jail officials in the incident. Some supporters of Yusuf allegedly attacked journalists, who had gone to the hospital where injured prison inmates were being treated.
MP Nalin Kumar Kateel demanded the resignation of Home Minister G. Parameshwar and District Incharge Minister B. Ramanath Rai for the deteriorating law and order situation in the region over the last few days.
“Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Mr Parameshwar have differences and such incidents could be an effort to discredit the home minister,” he alleged.
Murdered undertrials from D gang
Madoor Yusuf, an aide of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, had 27 cases against him, including the murder of BJP leader Sukhanand Shetty. He was arrested in 2010 at Riyadh and brought to India.
The other murdered undertrial, Ganesh Shetty, who hailed from Udupi, was also a member of the Dawood-Chhota Shakeel gang. A sharpshooter, he was arrested for a murder in Mumbai. He managed to escape from the police, but was caught in Mangaluru in 2011, while he was plotting to murder members of Ravi Poojary gang.
