Mohan Kuthar
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (RJP)
Mangaluru, Aug 30: A gang of six persons armed with machetes tried to barge into the house of Ullal constituency BJP president Chandrashekar Uchil on the night of Friday August 28. A tragedy was averted due to the presence of mind of his nephew Rajesh Uchil, it is revealed.
One member of the gang, identified as Fayan (22) was caught and handed over to the police. Two others - Nazeer Manjanady and Rafiq Manjanady were arrested later. Three others identified as Taizar, Ruksan and Rameez are absconding and police are on the lookout for them.
BJP leader Chandrashekar Uchil stays with his nephew Rajesh Uchil, who is the president of Someshwar gram panchayat. On Friday late night, the gang of six knocked on the door of the Uchils. When Rajesh Uchil went to open the door, the gang used abusive words against him and tried to attack him with machetes.
Instead of panicking, Rajesh shut the door quickly to avert any bodily injury. He then shouted for help and also phoned his friends. The neighbours responded immediately and came to the rescue of Uchils. The gang sensing trouble fled from the scene in two bikes.
Rajesh then passed on the information to one of his friends staying near Beeri, who, along with locals managed to intercept one of the two bikes at Beeri. Out of the three persons travelling on that bike, they managed to catch Fayan while the other two ran away. Fayan was handed over to the police.
Based on the information given by Fayan during interrogation, Ullal police arrested Rafiq and Nazeer.
The motive behind the murder attempt is not known yet. It is also not known who the target was among the uncle and the nephew.
A murder attempt was made on Chandrashekar Uchil way back in 2004. Chandrashekar Uchil was scheduled to testify in the case on September 8. It is suspected that the attempt could be an effort to stop him from appearing in the court.
As the incident happened at around 11 pm and as the gang knocked on the door, any theft motive has been dismissed. The area has of late become notorious for crime and two wheeler riders seldom dare to travel at night.
Ullal police have registered a case.