Mysore/Mysuru: Seven persons, including four from Mysuru, have been arrested by the Mysuru District Police for allegedly plotting the murder of a man over a property dispute by offering a Rs. 37 lakh supari contract in Periyapatna Police limits. The man who gave the supari contract is the uncle of the victim.

Addressing a press conference at his office this morning, SP Mallikarjun Baladandi said, the accused have been identified as 57-year-old Raju alias ‘Soude’ Raju of Bettadapura village in Periyapatna taluk, K.P. Shafi of Sampaje of Sullia taluk in Dakshina Kannada district, Mir Hussain Ali alias Sultan of Periyapatna town, 43-year-old Nayaz Ahmed of Hunsur, 43-year-old Habid Pasha alias Bhaiya of Shanthinagar in Mysuru, 28-year-old Ayaz Pasha alias ‘Hero’ of Sunnadakeri and 35-year-old Aminulla, also of Sunnadakeri in Mysuru.

Attack on Apr. 13

The SP said, on Apr. 13 at around 6.45 pm, two masked men riding a ‘Pulsar’ motorcycle attacked Praveen Kumar with lethal weapons in an alleged attempt to murder him within Periyapatna Police limits.

Praveen sustained serious injuries to his hand and later lodged a complaint at Periyapatna Police Station, following which a case was registered.

During the course of the investigation, the Police found that another attempt had been made on Praveen’s life on Apr. 21.

According to the Mysuru SP, accused Soude Raju and one Mahalingu tried to run over Praveen after ramming his motorcycle with a car near a lake at Hittanahalli village on the National Highway. Another case was subsequently registered.

Uncle named in complaint

Praveen had specifically named his uncle, Soude Raju, in his complaint and expressed suspicion over his involvement in the attempts on his life.

During questioning, Praveen told the Police that the dispute revolved around 11 acres of land worth several crores of rupees.

He stated that residential sites had already been formed on the property and alleged that Soude Raju feared financial loss if Praveen, his sister’s son, claimed a share in the land.

Taking the case seriously, the Police formed a special investigation team led by Hunsur Sub-Division Dy.SP Ravi.

The team comprised Periyapatna Inspector M.V. Govindaraju, Bylakuppe Inspector M.K. Deepak, Periyapatna Sub-Inspector B.H. Jagadish, Bettadapura Sub-Inspector D.N. Ajay Kumar and Bylakuppe Sub-Inspector Ravikumar.

During interrogation, investigators learnt that Soude Raju had paid a Rs. 7 lakh supari to one Shafi of Sullia in Dakshina Kannada district to kill Praveen Kumar, who is the son of his younger sister, in connection with the property dispute.

Shafi confessed to causing the road accident in an attempt to eliminate Praveen.

Police arrested Soude Raju and Shafi on May 22 and remanded them to judicial custody. Four mobile phones and a ‘Xylo’ car were seized from the arrested persons.

Rs. 30 lakh additional supari

After obtaining the Court’s permission, investigators took Soude Raju into Police custody for further questioning. During interrogation, he allegedly revealed that he had actually offered a separate supari of Rs. 30 lakh to Mir Hussain Ali of Shivappa Layout in Periyapatna to eliminate Praveen Kumar.

Police then detained Mir Hussain Ali, who confessed to having approached Hunsur rowdy-sheeter Nayaz Ahmed. The two are said to have hired Mysuru-based rowdy-sheeters Habid Pasha, Ayaz Pasha and Aminulla to execute the murder plan.

The three accused were subsequently taken into custody and reportedly confessed to attacking Praveen Kumar on Apr. 13.

Based on information provided by the accused, the Police seized a long machete allegedly used in the crime, four mobile phones, Rs. 10,000 cash, a black Pulsar 220 CC motorcycle and a car.

A notorious rowdy-sheeter

Police said Habid Pasha is a notorious rowdy-sheeter with 12 criminal cases registered against him, including six murder cases.

He is also accused in several major criminal cases, including the Udayagiri Raju murder case, the Hunsur double murder case, the Udayagiri Munni murder case, the Shashikumar murder case, the attempt on MLA Tanveer Sait’s life, the Giridhar attempted murder case and the Judge Shanthiprasad attempted murder case in Moodabidri.

The operation was carried out under the guidance of Dy.SP Ravi by Inspectors Govindaraju and Deepak, Sub-Inspectors Jagadish, Ravikumar and Ajay Kumar, along with Police personnel Lingarajappa, K.H. Madhukumar, Ravish, Prabhakar, N.T. Mahadeva, Basavaraju, Rudresh, Suresh, Eranna, Puneeth, Annaiah, Mohin, Yalagoda and Technical Wing ASI Vasanth Kumar.