₹2 crore UPCL contract led to murder of former panchayat president: Udupi SP

Udupi Superintendent of Police Hariram Shankar on Saturday said preliminary probe into the August 7 murder of David D’Souza in Mudarangadi revealed that financial dealings related to Udupi Power Corporation Limted (UPCL) contracts were the main reason for the murder. D’Souza is a former president of the Mudarangadi Gram Panchayat.

A CCTV footage of the incident being circulated on social media showed that one of the assailants approached D’Souza from behind when the latter was about to get into the driving seat of his car in front of St. Francis Xavier Church in Pilar. The assailant hit D’Souza and he collapsed. Soon after, he shot at D’souza from a close range.

Speaking to reporters after the arrest of the three accused allegedly involved in shooting Mr. D’Souza at Udupi, the SP said more than ₹2 lakh was paid into the bank account of Accused No. 1, Raju, who allegedly shot the victim. A probe is on into the source of this money and those who paid.

Mr. Shankar said the victim was a contractor and there was a dispute between him and another contractor regarding a ₹2 crore to ₹3 crore contract. It is suspected that a person from North India had offered supari to get him killed. The SP said that a special team was already working to find that person.

9 mm pistol used

Mr. Shankar said Raju used a 9 mm pistol to shoot Mr. D’Souza. The police have seized the pistol, three mobile phones, and SIM cards from the accused.

The three had arrived at Mudarangadi about two months ago and hatched the crime. A probe was also under way to check local support. The police were also finding who had provided the bike to the accused that was left behind.

Borders sealed

Mr. Shankar said immediately after the incident, the police sealed the borders of the district to prevent the accused from fleeing even as over 500 personnel were deployed to trace them. Checks were carried out at Udupi and Bhatkal railway stations. The operation was carried out in cooperation with the Railway Police and the Uttara Kannada district police.

26 cases against Raju

Raju has a total of 26 cases of murder, assault on women and robbery registered against him in five States including Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. Accused No. 2 Ajay Rastogi alias Anmol has eight cases registered in four States. Investigation has revealed that Accused No. 3 Ziaul Vazul Sheikh has 12 cases against him, including robbery, shootout and dacoity.

The accused were not even completely acquainted with each other. They had introduced themselves to each other by giving false names. If the accused had escaped, the mobile phones they had used would not have been found. The SP said that the investigation was currently under way on the basis of mobile phones and SIM cards.