Muneer Katipalla tries to drag UTK's name into murder case; plaint lodged

July 2, 2016

Mangaluru, Jul 2: All three personal assistants of U T Khader, Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, have lodged complaint with Mangaluru East Police against Muneer Katipalla, the state president of Democratic Youth Federation of India for levelling false allegations against them and attempting to defame the minister through social media.

The development comes after Mr Katipalla claimed on his Facebook wall that a person claiming to be the PA of Mr Khader called Mangaluru jailor and asked him to take good care of NaMo Naresh, the prime accused in RTI activist Vinayak Baliga murder case, and shift him to a private hospital.

Mr Katipalla went on to claim that when the jailor did not care the caller, the latter threatened the former with all sorts of “punishments”.

In their joint complaint, Praveen Kumar JP, Mohammed Libzeth and Vijaykumar, the three personal assistants of Mr Khader, made it clear that none of them had contacted Mangaluru jailor in connection with the arrest of NaMo Naresh.

The complainants have urged the police to conduct an inquiry into the issue and take necessary action against Mr Katipalla for attempting to defame the minister and his personal assistants through Facebook posts.

Meanwhile, the jailor himself rubbished the allegations made by Mr Katipalla and clarified that he did not receive any such call from the minister's PA or anyone else.

Expressing shock over the allegations, Mr Khader said that the one who made the allegations should provide proof. “When I was informed about the Facebook post, I personally contacted the jailor and he was not even aware of the incident,” he said.

Mr Khader said that the DYFI leader had tried to defame him through false and baseless allegations in the past too. “The same person had once blamed me for the murder of an auto-rickshaw driver,” the minister recalled. He also urged to police to conduct a thorough investigation into the allegations.

On the other hand Mr Katipalla has justified his Facebook post and claimed that Mr Khader had links with several Hindutva leaders.

Comments

Cannot rule out the interference of politicians like UTK

muneer katipalla dont have any other work to do,

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QR-code tips power Mangaluru's major drug bust: 25 arrested in 2 weeks

News Network

December 16,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 16: The Mangaluru City police have significantly escalated their campaign against drug trafficking, arresting 25 individuals and booking 12 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act between November 30 and December 13. The crackdown resulted in the seizure of a substantial quantity of illicit substances, including 685.6 grams of MDMA and 1.5 kg of ganja.

The success of this recent drive has been significantly boosted by the city’s innovative, QR code-based anonymous reporting system.

"The anonymous reporting system has received an encouraging response. Several recent arrests were made based on inputs received through this system, helping police tighten the noose around drug peddlers," said the City Police Commissioner.

The latest arrests contribute to a robust year-to-date record, underscoring the police's relentless commitment to combating the drug menace.

Up to December 14 this year, the police have registered a total of 107 cases of drug peddling, leading to the arrest of 219 peddlers. Furthermore, they have booked 562 cases of drug consumption, resulting in the arrest of 671 individuals.

The scale of the seizure for the year reflects the magnitude of the problem being tackled: police have seized 320.6 kg of ganja worth ₹88.7 lakh and 1.4 kg of MDMA valued at ₹1.2 crore. Other significant seizures include hydro-weed ganja worth ₹94.7 lakh and cocaine worth ₹1.9 lakh, among others.

The Commissioner emphasized a policy of rigorous enforcement: "We ensure that peddlers are caught red-handed so that they cannot later dispute the case or claim innocence."

To counter the rising trend of substance abuse among youth, the Mangaluru City police have rolled out uniform guidelines for random drug testing across educational institutions.

As part of the drive, tests were conducted in approximately 100 institutions, screening an estimated 5,500 to 6,000 students in the first phase. 20 students tested positive for drug consumption during the initial screening.

Students who tested positive have been provided counselling and are scheduled for re-testing in the second quarter. The testing will also be expanded to students not covered in the first phase. In a move to ensure strict implementation, police personnel were deployed in mufti in some institutions. Reiterating a zero-tolerance stance, the Commissioner confirmed that random testing will continue, and colleges have also been instructed to conduct drug tests at the time of admission to deter substance abuse from an early stage.

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