Eight cases registered against underworld operative Hemanth Poojary

The Udupi district police have registered eight cases against underworld operative Hemanth Poojary for making calls to extort money from industrialists and arrested an alleged henchman.

In a video statement, Udupi Superintendent of Police (SP) Hariram Shankar said that of the eight cases, five were registered in Padubidri police station, and one each in Shirva, Kaup, and Manipal police stations. Industrialists and other prominent persons in Udupi district have lodged complaints accusing Poojary of making calls threatening their lives if they did not pay him money.

During the investigation, the police found that Suresh Ameen, 38, of Yermal Bada village in Kaup taluk, Udupi district, provided the phone numbers of industrialists and other prominent persons to Poojary. The police also found evidence of Poojary and Ameen hatching a conspiracy to murder an industrialist who had failed to answer Poojary’s call. Poojary had paid ₹5 lakh to Ameen to execute the murder.

After collecting digital evidence connecting Poojary and Ameen, the police arrested Ameen and recovered ₹4.15 lakh from him. Ameen was produced before the jurisdictional magistrate, who remanded him to judicial custody. Mr. Shankar said the police would shortly take custody of Ameen to trace other persons allegedly involved in extorting industrialists and prominent persons in Udupi.

The SP called upon industrialists and others to freely approach the police when they receive extortion and ransom calls. “We will provide you necessary protection and trace out the accused,” he said. He asked victims not to pay any ransom upon receiving threatening calls, as doing so increases the number of victims. Mr. Shankar further urged people to report calls from underworld operatives seeking their support. If the police catch persons supporting underworld operatives, they will be booked for offences carrying a minimum punishment of seven months’ imprisonment.

Poojary’s name surfaced during the investigation into the August 7 murder of Mudarangadi Gram Panchayat president David D’Souza. The police found internet calls made by a person claiming to be Poojary, threatening Mr. D’Souza and Udupi Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) officials to award a work contract to his brother, Kishore Ram Poojary. The police have arrested 10 persons, including Kishore Ram Poojary and three alleged assailants, in connection with the murder.