Overview

• Sharan Pumpwell was arrested by Mangaluru police on May 27 after ignoring two summons issued under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and failing to cooperate with the inquiry.
• Authorities registered a suo motu case against him under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, accusing him of incitement and offences against public order.
• On May 2 Pumpwell alleged the involvement of “jihadi Islamic terrorists” and the banned Popular Front of India in the murder of Hindutva activist Suhas Shetty and called a district-wide bandh that led to vandalism when the public did not comply.
• Suhas Shetty, a known rowdy-sheeter and Hindutva activist, was killed on May 1 within Bajpe police station limits in Mangaluru, triggering communal unrest across the city.
• The BJP has criticised the Congress-led Karnataka government for what it calls harassment of Hindu activists through Pumpwell’s arrest and related police actions.