Bengre Bajrang Dal leader death case: cops dismiss foul play

www.mangaloretoday.com

Mangaluru, April 23, 2017: Mangaluru city police have dismissed possible ‘foul play’ in the death of Bajrang Dal worker of the outfit’s Bengre unit, under suspicious circumstances on Thursday morning on Bengre beach. A top police officer, however, said there is no reason to suspect foul play, and it appears a case of drowning by accident.

The deceased, Jagadish Suvarna, 37, worked as co-pilot on a passenger boat on the beach, the police said. A resident of Bengre, Suvarna was an active member of Bajrang Dal and was appointed as a sanchalak in the Bengre unit two months ago, the police said.

A postmortem did not reveal injuries, the police said. Mangaluru city police chief M Chandrashekhar said they have lodged a case of unnatural death on a complaint lodged by the victim’s brother Shivananda. He said there seems to be no cause for suspicion of foul play, as alleged by some people on social media. “It is a clear case of accidental drowning, but further probe is underway,” he said.

The police said the victim’s brother did not raise any suspicion over the death. ACP Udaya Nayak said Suvarna had attended a wedding on Wednesday night and reportedly went for a few drinks with friends afterward. He was reportedly drinking till 3.15 am and then set out to report for his duty as boat co-pilot at 4.30 am. Police suspect Suvarana fell into the sea and drowned.