Belgaum clashes: Murdered youth a drug peddler, say police

Belgaum: A few days after the death of a 25-year-old youth in Belgaum which resulted in a communal clash bringing the city to a halt, the Belgaum police have cracked the murder. Belgaum Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao said that a gang, including the dead Feroz Pathan, indulged in a clash over peddling of drugs which they were involved in for sometime that ended in the death of Pathan. The differences between the drug peddlers over distribution of drugs in the region were the cause of his death, he added.

Soon after the doctors declared Pathan dead at the Belgaum Civil Hospital, a large number of people resorted to violence stoning many shops and business establishments in the city besides attacking vehicles. Tension prevailed in the city for a few days due to the continued communal clashes forcing the police to impose prohibitory orders under Section 144 on the city till September 29.

Mr Bhaskar Rao said that the police identified 12 as accused in the murder of whom six have been arrested. All the accused will soon be arrested and produced before the court. The names of the accused will not be disclosed due to the ongoing investigation into the case, he said.

The commissioner expressed concern over the involvement of several youth from various communities in drug peddling, while admitting that some police officials too were hand-in-glove with peddlers. Youth from different communities are involved in drug-peddling and the clash between them left a youth from the minority community dead, while the accused are from the majority communities, he said.

The commissioner said that stringent action will be taken against the officials and youth in Belgaum who are involved in the illegal drug trade and that the department will act against them after Dasara and Bakrid. More than 100 shops and business establishments, besides a number of vehicles, were damaged in the violence that broke out after Pathan’s death a few days ago. The department has so far arrested 14 of the 40 youth who indulged in violence with 32 cases registered in connection with the violence, he said.