David D’Souza.
| Photo Credit: File photo
Udupi Superintendent of Police Hariram Shankar said that legal action will be taken against persons who have shared and published audio clips related to a man claiming to be underworld operative Hemanth Poojary. The clips were found in a mobile phone belonging to Raju, an assailant arrested in connection with the murder of former Mudarangadi Gram Panchayat president David D’Souza in Udupi district on August 7.
The man in the clip, claiming to be Hemanth, made a phone call to Udupi Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) officials, asking them to award his brother Kishore Ram Poojary, and not D’Souza, a contract to lay a pipeline for a desalination plant at UPCL. He had also made calls to assailants and the other accused.
Mr. Shankar’s statement has come after a digital news portal posted a news story on YouTube and Instagram on Wednesday (August 26), airing the audio clips found in Raju’s phone. He is among 10 persons the Udupi police have arrested so far.
The Udupi SP said, “I will take legal action against whoever has shared as well as published this. It includes those from my department, who have leaked these (audio clips).” A few minutes after Mr. Shankar’s statement was shared, the news portal removed the story from both platforms.
The murder
Raju attacked D’Souza when the latter was about to board his jeep parked in front of his office ‘Prince Enterprises’, near St. Francis Xavier Church in Pilar, on August 7. With the help of the Uttara Kannada police, Raju and two other assailants, Anmol Rastogi and Ziaul Vazul Sheikh alias Deepak, were arrested.
The investigation revealed that Kishore held a grudge against D’Souza after he lost the contract to the latter. Kishore was found to have hired three assailants for ₹10 lakh. The police arrested him, Mohammed Irshad, Chiraj Poojary, and Sadananada Devadiga, who gave the money to the assailants. The police also arrested Suraj Kumar and Anuj Patil, both from Bihar, and Lokesh Tej Kottari of Yedtare village in Byndoor Taluk, who were links between Kishore and the three assailants.
“The person (claiming to be Hemanth) looks like the key conspirator in the murder. We are not sure whether the audio is indeed of that of Hemanth or not,” Mr. Shankar said.
Published – August 26, 2026 09:07 pm IST
