KASARGOD: Police arrested four persons for killing a merchant at his shop in Paivelige gram panchayat on May 4 in what is seen as a crime of revenge. The victim died of stab wounds en route to a hospital in Mangalore.
District police chief K G Simon said Ummer Farooq B M (36) of Chengala, Naushad Sheikh (33) of Povval, Abdul Arif (33) from Bovikkanam and Ashraf K of Chengala were arrested in Chengala late on Wednesday.
Ramakrishna Moolya (47) was stabbed on his neck, back and chest at his shop G K general stores. Farooq, a petty thief allegedly killed Moolya to avenge his humiliation by residents, including the merchant, said the district police chief.
On March 8, Farooq and two accomplices, Rahi Pasha and Razak, broke the offertory box in front of Subramanian temple at Mugu and tried to flee with nearly Rs 4,500.
However, they were caught red handed and tied up and thrashed publicly in the village before being given to police. The video of the incident, with Moolya in it, went viral on Whatsapp.
When he was lodged in prison as an undertrial, Farooq had told several persons that he would kill Ramakrishna, Simon said.
When the gang exited jail, Farooq asked Rahi Pasha and Razak to join him in his plan. "But they refused and so he called in another trio," the officer said.
After that, the four men went to G K General Store, the only grocery shop in the village, thrice to execute their plan, he said.
On May 4, they allegedly pulled up in a black Alto and bought five cigarettes. "After pocketing the cigarettes, they tried to pick up a fight saying Ramakrishna did not give them the cigarettes," he said.
A 77-year-old bystander at the shop asked Ramakrishna Moolya to give them the cigarettes again to avoid a fight. They left only to return again in 30 minutes.
"This time, only Farooq came out of the car and asked for mangoes. When he turned around, Farooq allegedly stabbed him multiple times," Simon said.
The police are yet to recover the car, registered in Kasargod, and the knife used in the crime. "The car is in Mangalore and the knife had been disposed outside Kerala. We will recover them soon," he said.
They will also be subjected to an identification parade, Simon added.