Paresh Mesta death case: A timeline of events

With the CBI filing closure report in the 2017 death of Paresh Mesta, here is a look at the timeline of events in the case

On October 4, 2022, five years after 18-year-old Paresh Mesta’s death in Honnavar of Uttara Kannada district, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a B report terming it as accidental death and not murder, as had been claimed by the victim’s family and BJP leaders.

The victim’s father, Kamalakar Mesta, as well as right-wing outfits in Karnataka, like Sriram Sene and Hindu Janajagruthi Samithi, have rejected the report and have demanded that the case be reopened and probed again.

Following the death in December 2017, BJP leaders Anant Kumar Hegde, Shobha Karandlaje and others had accused the then Congress government of supporting the killers. Hindutva fringe groups had fanned communal sentiments, leading to riots and widespread violence in the Uttara Kannada district in the run-up to the 2018 Assembly elections. Here is a timeline of the case so far:

December 6, 2017: 18-year-old Sangh Parivar activist Paresh Mesta goes missing following altercations between two communities over an accident involving an autorickshaw and motorcycle on Kumta-Honnavar Road

December 8, 2017: Paresh Mesta’s body is found in Shettikere lake near Honnavar bus stand under mysterious circumstances. BJP leaders allege Mesta is a victim of a communal attack and that he was brutally tortured and killed. Union Minister Anantkumar Hegde demands investigation by Central agencies into the “killing”. Family says his body bore multiple injuries

December 9, 2017: Shobha Karandlaje, MP, posts pictures of Mesta’s body on her Twitter account, alleging that “hot oil was poured on his body resulting in it turning black” and that was murdered by “Jehadis in ISIS fashion.” Then state BJP general secretary Arvind Limbavali had also tweeted with graphic details of alleged torture.

December 11, 2017: Protest by Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP) activists at Kumta in Uttara Kannada turns violent. Protesters resort to stone pelting, burn tyres and set ablaze buses and the car of an IGP. Over seven people, including police perosnnel, injured.