The Udupi police have arrested Suraj Kumar, 31, of Bihar, in connection with the murder of former president of Mudarnagadi Gram Panchayat David D’Souza in Udupi district on August 7.
Till now, the police have arrested eight persons.
According to a release, a team of police personnel from the Kundapura Police Station secured Kumar at Haldwani in Nainital district of Uttarakhand.
The police arrested Kumar and seized his mobile phone. Kumar was produced before jurisdictional magistrate in Udupi on Thursday.
Investigation has revealed that Kumar was among the persons engaged by Kishore Ram Poojary, who was arrested for giving contract for the murder, to contact the three assailants of D’souza.
D’Souza was attacked when he was about to get on his jeep parked in front of his office, ‘Prince Enterprises’, near St. Francis Xavier Church, in Pilar.
The police tracked the assailants and arrested Anmol Rastogi and Ziaul Vazul Sheikh alias Deepak. The third accused, Raju, was shot at by the police while trying to flee after shooting at a sub-inspector. Raju was undergoing treatment at the Udupi district hospital.
The police have also arrested Mohammed Irshad, Chiraj Poojary and Sadananada Devadiga for allegedly providing money to the three assailants. Poojary allegedly had a grudge against D’souza for losing contract of a roadwork.
The police are looking into technical data related to the accused to find other persons involved in the murder.
Published – August 20, 2026 09:08 pm IST
