Mangaluru City East Police taking VHP leader Sharan Pumpwell for medical examination after arresting him on May 27, 2025
| Photo Credit: H.S. Manjunath

The city police on Tuesday (May 27, 2025), arrested Sharan Pumpwell, joint secretary of South Karnataka wing of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

According to the police, the arrest was made as Mr. Pumpwell had called for a bandh across Dakshina Kannada on May 2, in protest against the murder of Suhas Shetty, a murder accused and a Hindutva activist, near Bajpe on May 1. Mr. Pumpwell also did not appear before police for inquiry in a case registered against him.

However, Kishore Kumar, advocate of Mr. Pumpwell told The Hindu that a magistrate released Mr. Pumpwell on bail. “Following medical examination, Mr. Pumpwell was produced before the jurisdictional magistrate at his home office. The magistrate accepted the bail application and relesed Mr. Pumpwell,” the advocate said.

A police release said that the post-mortem of Shetty was conducted at the AJ Hospital in the city in the early hours of May 2. During that night, outside the hospital premises, the VHP leader addressed the media alleging that Shetty was murdered by “Jihadi Islamic terrorists.”

He further claimed that the banned organisation PFI was directly involved. He also announced that the VHP and other Hindu groups would observe a district-wide bandh from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on May 2, asking people to shut down shops, offices, and other establishments in protest.

Subsequently, when the public did not respond to the bandh, followers of Mr. Pumpwell, allegedly incited by his statement, created unrest in various parts of Mangaluru. This led to damage to public property, communal tension, and disruption of public peace.

A suo moto case was registered in this connection against Pumpwell at Mangaluru East Police Station in Crime No. 75/2025 under Sections 49, 196(1), 324(2), 324(4), 324(5), and 353(2) of the BNS.

During the investigation, necessary evidence was collected. The accused was served two notices under the BNSS to appear for an inquiry, but failed to comply and did not cooperate. Therefore, he was taken into custody, interrogated, and is being produced before the court, the release said.

Protests outside hospitals

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, a group of supporters of Abdul Rehman, who was murdered in Bantwal Rural police station limits on Monday (May 26, 2025), blocked the movement of the vehicle of Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal when the official was moving out of the mortuary of a private hospital in Deralakatte after seeing the body of Rehman. The protestors demanded the arrest of Sharan Pumpwell and other VHP leaders for their inflammatory speeches. 

A similar protest was held in front of another private hospital in Falnir in Mangaluru, where Kalandar Shafi, who was injured in the attack in Bantwal Rural police station limits, was undergoing treatment.