Karnataka forms special task force as Muslim Congress leaders resign over inaction on violence

Amid escalating communal tensions and the resignation of several Muslim leaders from the Congress party in protest against the state government’s alleged failure to contain violence, the Karnataka government has ordered the formation of a special action force to tackle communal incidents in sensitive districts.

The force, which will be established in Dakshina Kannada, Shivamogga, and Udupi, follows a spate of communal killings, the latest being the murder of Abdul Rahim in Dakshina Kannada earlier this week.

Comprising personnel drawn from the state’s anti-Naxal force, the special action force will include 248 members and be headed by a senior officer of DIGP rank. According to the order issued on 28 May, the force will be deployed to maintain law and order in the communally sensitive coastal districts, where tensions have escalated over the past few months.

The new unit will feature an intelligence component, including a technical cell that will monitor media and social media for hate speech and inflammatory content. It will also establish an early warning system based on surveillance and human intelligence, alongside deploying area domination exercises to build confidence in vulnerable regions.

The decision to set up the force comes days after Abdul Rahim, a sand supplier from Bantwal near Mangaluru, was killed while unloading sand at a customer’s location. Police have arrested three suspects — Deepak, Prithviraj and Chintan, all residents of Bantwal taluk — in connection with the murder.

The attackers had reportedly contacted Rahim under the pretext of ordering sand and assaulted him with swords during the delivery. Rahim’s friend and co-worker was also seriously injured in the attack.

The murder has led to outrage within the Muslim community, prompting senior Congress leaders from the community to resign from their party posts. Among those who resigned were Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee General Secretary MS Mohammed and Dakshina Kannada District Minority Wing chief KK Shahul Hameed, along with several district and booth-level functionaries.

The resignations followed an emergency meeting in Mangaluru’s Bolara area, where leaders and workers expressed dissatisfaction with the government's inability to protect Muslims from what they described as ongoing harassment by right-wing groups.

The leaders cited a deep sense of betrayal among community members, many of whom had supported the Congress during difficult political times, but now questioned the party’s commitment to their safety. The resignations have intensified political pressure on the ruling party, especially in the wake of multiple violent incidents in the region.

The area has witnessed three murders in recent weeks. On 27 April, Ashraf, a 36-year-old man from Kerala, was lynched in Mangaluru after allegedly shouting pro-Pakistan slogans during a cricket match. On 11 May, Hindutva activist Suhas Shetty, who was facing five criminal cases and had been named as a prime accused in a previous murder, was killed, leading to the arrest of eleven individuals.

The killing of Rahim on 28 May has now further heightened communal tensions in the region, triggering both public unrest and political fallout.