Former Udupi Panchayat president’s murder: Police secure gangster after shooting at his leg

Police said that Anuj Patil was the person that Kishore Ram Poojary, who is arrested for giving ‘supari’, contacted to hire three assailants to carry out the murder. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto The Udupi police secured Anuj Patil, 35, of Bihar, a gangster, after shooting at his leg when he was running away from police custody. Patil shot at the police team after snatching a police officer’s service revolver and tried to escape on Monday morning (August 24, 2026).With this arrest, the police have secured a total of 10 accused persons for the murder of Mudarangadi Gram Panchayat President David D’Souza on August 7, 2026.On the run since 2017In a press note, police said that Anuj Patil was the person that Kishore Ram Poojary, who is arrested for giving ‘supari’, contacted to hire three assailants to carry out the murder. The police have arrested the three alleged assailants.A team of policemen, including Police Sub-Inspectors Nanja Nayak and Vinay, secured Patil and were taking him to be produced before the investigation officer. However, around 6 a.m. on August 24 in Hebri Police Station limits of Udupi, Patil pulled the service revolver from Vinay and started to flee after firing at the police team. In defence, Nanja Nayak fired at Patil’s leg. The police secured Patil and admitted him to the Udupi District Hospital.Police said that Patil has been at large since 2017. Including the D’Souza murder case, Patil has been accused in a total of 11 criminal cases, of which 10 were under the Arms Act. He is accused in four criminal cases in Maharashtra, five in Gujarat, and one case in Daman and Diu.How the murder accused were nabbedD’Souza was attacked by assailant Raju when he was to board his jeep parked in front of his office, ‘Prince Enterprises’, near St. Francis Xavier Church, in Pilar, on August 7. The assailant fled the spot on the motorcycle of his accomplice. The police tracked the assailants and arrested Anmol Rastogi and Ziaul Vazul Sheikh alias Deepak.Raju was shot at by the police when he was running away after shooting at a police sub inspector. He was later taken into police custody, following his discharge from the Udupi District Hosptial.The police have arrested Mohammed Irshad, Chiraj Poojary and Sadananada Devadiga for allegedly providing money to the three assailants. The police have arrested Kishore Ram Poojary, who reportedly held a grudge against David D’souza for losing contract of a road work. Suraj Kumar of Bihar and Lokesh Tej Kottar of Yedtare village in Byndoor Taluk, who helped Kishore Ram Poojary contact the assailants, have also been arrested. Published - August 24, 2026 12:20 pm IST