Runaway cow vigilante and Hindutva worker Puneeth Kerehalli who is the main accused in the Idrees Pasha murder case released a video claiming innocence.
In a 15-minute video, Kerehalli can be seen sitting inside a car and explaining why his phone was switched off after the murder case came to light. He accused Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) behind Idrees Pasha’s death.
“I was visiting temples due to which my phone was switched off. I came to know about the murder only after switching my phone on. I am willing to cooperate with the police investigations. I will deal with questions in a straightforward manner. I will always protect cows and even in the future I will do it,” Kerehalli said in the video.
On April 1 cattle trader Idrees Pasha’s body was found dead after being allegedly murdered by Hindutva workers. According to an FIR lodged by his brother Yunus Pasha, Idrees was killed despite carrying a document that stated he was transporting cattle from Mandya to Tamil Nadu.
The incident happened in Sathanur village in Kanakapura taluk of Ramanagara district, Karnataka.
A case was filed by the Sathanur police against Kerehalli who is currently absconding.
In the video, Kerehalli termed the whole incident as a ‘political vendetta’ against him. Accusing the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) behind Idrees’s murder he said, “I live-streamed the incident on Facebook. I was with the police till 5 am on Saturday until the cattle were safely released. If I had really killed him (Idrees Pasha) why will I go to the police in the first place?”
Soon after Idrees body’s was found, photographs of Kerehalli with many prominent BJP leaders of Karnataka including Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya and BJP national secretary CT Ravi, and Delhi BJP leader Kapil Mishra emerged.
