Kerala Labourer Lynched in Mangaluru, Probe On; Political Fallout and Revenge Theory Surface

Mangaluru: The death of a 36-year-old Kerala man, Ashraf, in Mangaluru has escalated from a local murder case to a politically and communally sensitive issue, after police investigations suggested it may have been a case of mob lynching. Ashraf, a daily-wage labourer from Pulpalli village in Sultan Bathery taluk of Wayanad district, was brutally assaulted during a local cricket match on the outskirts of Mangaluru. He succumbed to his injuries shortly after the incident on Sunday.

While the motive remains officially unconfirmed, Mangaluru Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal stated that the investigation is ongoing. “We are committed to ensuring that all those connected to the crime are brought to justice,” he said, adding that motives are yet to be established.

The police have so far arrested 20 people in connection with the case, including five more suspects taken into custody at late night on Tuesday. All those arrested are believed to be residents of the Mangaluru outskirts.

Ashraf, who had been working in the city as a manual labourer for the past month, was initially unidentified. His identity was later confirmed by family members from Kerala, who travelled to Mangaluru after being informed by the authorities.

Following his death, leaders from both the Congress party and minority organisations offered support to Ashraf’s family. Mangaluru MLA and Karnataka Assembly Speaker U.T. Khader coordinated with senior leaders including AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal and Wayanad MLA T. Siddique to ensure proper Islamic funeral rites were conducted. Ashraf’s body was prepared at the Zeenath Baksh Jumma Masjid before being sent to his native Kottakkal in Kerala for final rites.

Congress Minority Cell District President Shahal Hamid KK, former mayor Ashraf K, Suhail Kandak, Lawrence D’Souza and others remained present until the funeral proceedings concluded.

Meanwhile, the incident has triggered a political stir. The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), in a press conference, accused the Karnataka government of misrepresenting the incident and called for the resignation of the state’s Home Minister. SDPI district president Jaleel Krishnapura demanded a ₹50 lakh compensation for the victim's family and categorically termed the killing a "mob lynching".

While official agencies continue to tread cautiously, the narrative around the incident has taken on broader political overtones. Some political analysts from coastal Karnataka have suggested that the killing might have been an emotionally charged response to the recent Pahalgam massacre in Jammu and Kashmir, where 26 Hindu pilgrims were killed in a terror attack allegedly carried out by Pakistan-based Islamic militants.

Labelled as a ‘Hindutva laboratory’ in Karnataka’s political lexicon, the coastal region had witnessed a wave of anger and mobilisation following the Pahalgam killings. According to these analysts, the lynching in Mangaluru could reflect a dangerous trend of localised retaliation driven by communal sentiment.

As these narratives emerge, civil society groups and rights activists have urged the government to address the case transparently and avoid communal polarisation. “The focus should be on justice and rule of law, not revenge or retribution,” one observer said.

With the investigation still in progress, the Mangaluru incident has become a test for the state’s ability to maintain communal harmony and ensure accountability in an increasingly volatile atmosphere.