On October 4, 2022, five years after 18-year-old Paresh Mesta’s death in Honnavar of Uttara Kannada district, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a B report terming it as accidental death and not murder, as had been claimed by the victim’s family and BJP leaders.
The victim’s father, Kamalakar Mesta, as well as right-wing outfits in Karnataka, like Sriram Sene and Hindu Janajagruthi Samithi, have rejected the report and have demanded that the case be reopened and probed again.
Following the death in December 2017, BJP leaders Anant Kumar Hegde, Shobha Karandlaje and others had accused the then Congress government of supporting the killers. Hindutva fringe groups had fanned communal sentiments, leading to riots and widespread violence in the Uttara Kannada district in the run-up to the 2018 Assembly elections. Here is a timeline of the case so far:
December 6, 2017: 18-year-old Sangh Parivar activist Paresh Mesta goes missing following altercations between two communities over an accident involving an autorickshaw and motorcycle on Kumta-Honnavar Road
December 8, 2017: Paresh Mesta’s body is found in Shettikere lake near Honnavar bus stand under mysterious circumstances. BJP leaders allege Mesta is a victim of a communal attack and that he was brutally tortured and killed. Union Minister Anantkumar Hegde demands investigation by Central agencies into the “killing”. Family says his body bore multiple injuries
December 9, 2017: Shobha Karandlaje, MP, posts pictures of Mesta’s body on her Twitter account, alleging that “hot oil was poured on his body resulting in it turning black” and that was murdered by “Jehadis in ISIS fashion.” Then state BJP general secretary Arvind Limbavali had also tweeted with graphic details of alleged torture.
December 11, 2017: Protest by Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP) activists at Kumta in Uttara Kannada turns violent. Protesters resort to stone pelting, burn tyres and set ablaze buses and the car of an IGP. Over seven people, including police perosnnel, injured.
Meanwhile, in a medical report released by the government, forensic experts say they found no evidence of Mesta being tortured. Doctor who conducted autopsy on the body also refutes the claims.
December 12, 2017: Sirsi witnesses violence, marked by stone-pelting on police and buses, during a protest rally by BJP members and Hindutva outfits. 70 people, including Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, detained for rioting. BJP state president B.S. Yediyurappa demands NIA probe into the “murder” of Mesta
December 13, 2017: Amid continued instances of sporadic violence in Uttara Kannada district and political slugfest between he BJP and Congress, Karnataka government decides to handover investigation to the CBI in deference to request by the Mesta’s family
December 14, 2017: Kamalakar Mesta, father of victim, welcomes State government’s decision while accusing the police of not being thorough in their investigation. Denies reports that his son belonged BJP or any other organisation, describing him as an “18-year-old Hindu youth who had got a tattoo of Shivaji on his hand”
December 15, 2017: Attempted molestation of Class 9 girl disrupts peace in Honnavar which was limping back to normalcy. Rumours fly on WhatsApp and Facebook posts alleging the girl was stabbed by members of the other community. Some even claim murder. Honnavar police impose prohibitory orders.
Meanwhile in Udupi, district BJP unit demands ban on Popular Front of India (PFI) and Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD) alleging they were behind the killings of Hindutva activists in the State.
December 23, 2017: Honnavar police book BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje for giving “provocation to cause riot” through her tweet about molestation incident at Magodu village, Honnavar. It is revealed that the girl had inflicted injuries on herself out of fear after a local youth had stalked and threatened her.
January 5, 2018: Following the murder of another BJP worker in Dakshina Kannada, then Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy blames both Hindutva outfits and PFI for rise of “organised crime” in the coastal belt. Minister says 19 people associated with the BJP, RSS and Bajrang Dal and six PFI workers have been murdered since 2013, with most cases being personal disputes
April 23, 2018: CBI registers FIR four months after Paresh’s death. It is a reproduction of the one registered at the Honnavar police station on December 8, 2017.
FIR states the accused had gathered near Honnavar bus stand on December 6. Members of one community suddenly started pelting stones and “by using deadly weapons such as iron rod, sword, sickle went on damaging temple, shops, tempos and assaulting public and at this time, they brutally killed Paresh Mesta…” According to the FIR, based on a complaint launched by the victim’s father, the body was later thrown in Shettikere lake to destroy any evidence.
A case is registered under IPC sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (punishment for rioting) 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapon), 302, (punishment for murder) 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 149 (offence committed by a member of unlawful assembly) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy), against the accused: Azad Annigeri, Ashif Rafiq, Mahamad Faisal, Imtiyaz Gani, and Salim.
October 4, 2022: The CBI files closure report. Cites post mortem and forensic reports as well as non-availability of incriminating evidence, including any external injuries or assault marks, to indicate he was tortured and killed, as was alleged in the 2017 FIR. Medico-legal evidences establish that he died of drowning. Victim’s father refuses to sign the CBI report demanding reinvestigation.
