MP Brijesh Chowta comes down on govt. for its refusal to hand over Suhas Shetty murder case to NIA

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, May 6, 2025: Dakshina Kannada MP Capt. Brijesh Chowta said here on Monday, May 5, that the State government’s refusal to hand over investigation into Suhas Shetty’s murder case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) “reflects a dangerous intent to shield a growing nexus of radical elements emboldened under the watch of Congress government.”

Addressing press persons Capt. Chowta questioned if NIA took over the investigation and whether the Congress government is afraid of its links with the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political wing of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), getting exposed.

 

 

The government should make it clear why it is refusing to hand over the case to the NIA.

“It (refusing to transfer the case to NIA) raises deeply troubling questions. This is not merely administrative hesitation. It reflects a dangerous intent to shield a growing nexus of radical elements, emboldened under its watch,” he said.

Capt. Chowta said that in what appears to be a coordinated effort, senior Congress leaders — including the Speaker and the Home Minister — rushed to dismiss the murder as “just another crime” hurriedly denying any ideological motive or connection to known extremist elements.  

“The Speaker’s remarks, made even before investigations could begin, sought to absolve individuals who are now named as accused. What explains this urgency to deny and deflect?” he asked.

“This (Suhas Shetty’s murder) is not an isolated case. It reflects the Congress party’s familiar pattern -- camouflaging anti-national activities as mere reactionary rivalries. The same leaders who bent over backwards to offer a clean chit to Mohammed Fazil’s family were the first to label Suhas Shetty a ‘rowdy sheeter’, attempting to rob the case of its ideological reality,” the MP said. He also added that, “A murder initially brushed off as a personal rivalry suddenly became ‘communal’ the moment the truth about those involved started to emerge. This convenient labelling, calculated to derail investigations and mislead the public by twisting facts, must end.”

Capt. Chowta said that despite the ban imposed on Popular Front of India (PFI) in September 2022, investigations revealed that its members had re-grouped and continued operations under the SDPI banner, their political front. In coastal Karnataka, SDPI leaders openly admitted that “the PFI cadre is now the SDPI cadre.”  

Capt. Chowta said that the conflict in coastal Karnataka is between fundamentalism and nationalism. The BJP reiterates that the State should hand over the investigation into Shetty’s murder to NIA, he said.