SIT is sure of Hindtuva gunrunner Hotte Manja’s involvement in Gauri Lankesh murder

coastaldigest.com news network

March 2, 2018

Benglauru, Mar 2: Hindu Yuva Sena leader Naveen Kumar T alias Hotte Manja, who was arrested last month by the Special Investigation Team probing the murder of journactivist Gauri Lankesh, is suspected to have played a key role in the case.

The 38-year-old gunrunner from Maddur in Mandya district was picked up from the KSRTC bus stand in Majestic area in Bengaluru with a .32-calibre gun and 15 live bullets. He was trying to sell the gun when he was arrested.

Though he has not confessed to the crime so far, the SIT team has reportedly gathered evidence for his involvement in the transportation of the assailants who gunned down Gauri Lankesh in front of her house in Bengaluru on September 5. The investigating officers are now awaiting forensic confirmation before proceeding against him.

Highly placed sources said SIT has found out that Hotte Manja was part of a four-member team from a rightwing organisation based outside Karnataka. Sources also said that the CCTV footage collected from the surroundings of Gauri’s house pointed to Hotte Manja’s role.

“We have video footage of a man riding the bike near Gauri's place for observation on September 3 and 5. The rider is wearing a full-face helmet but his nose is almost visible. We recreated the scene with Hotte Manja on a similar bike. Everything - from his posture on the bike to the way he rides to the nose - perfectly matches with CCTV footage. We're waiting for forensic confirmation of our recreated images before proceeding against him. The bike, another crucial link, is eluding us," a news channel quoted an SIT source as saying.

Hotte Manja, however, admitted to harbouring four individuals from a rightwing organization. “We have drawn their sketches based on his description. We are sure one of them, a man with receding hairline killed Gauri," an SIT official reportedly told a news channel.

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Think Before You Post! Mangaluru Police Crack Down on Provocative Instagram Accounts

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December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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Post-Sabarimala pilgrimage drinking party turns fatal in Udupi; youth killed in midnight brawl

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December 15,2025

Udupi, Dec 15: What was meant to be a post-pilgrimage gathering turned tragic in Padukere village of Brahmavar taluk, Udupi district, late Sunday night, when a clash among youths escalated into a fatal assault, leaving one man dead.

The victim has been identified as 30-year-old Santosh Mogaveera, a resident of Padukere.

According to preliminary information, the incident took place during a late-night drinking party involving a group of local youths who had recently returned after completing their pilgrimage to the Sabarimala shrine. An argument reportedly broke out among the group and soon escalated into a violent confrontation.

During the ensuing brawl, Santosh Mogaveera was allegedly assaulted and collapsed at the spot after sustaining serious injuries. He was rushed by local residents to a private hospital in Brahmavar, where doctors declared him dead.

On receiving information, senior police officials, including Brahmavar Circle Inspector Gopikrishna, Kota Police Sub-Inspector Praveen Kumar T, Station ASI Manthesh Jabagoudar, and head constables Pradeep and Ashok, visited the spot and conducted an inspection.

Police have taken four youths into custody in connection with the incident. A case has been registered at the Kota police station, and further investigation is underway to ascertain the exact sequence of events leading to the death.

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