The homicide of gangster Arif Hussain in Mangaluru last month was reportedly triggered by his celebration of the demise of a rival, according to findings from local law enforcement.
Hussain, aged 47, was brutally attacked around 4 AM on March 27 while on the Thokkottu flyover in the Ullal area of Mangaluru. In a recent announcement, the Mangaluru police disclosed the apprehension of seven individuals believed to be directly involved in his murder, with ongoing efforts to identify and apprehend additional accomplices located overseas.
Authorities have traced the underlying conflict to a longstanding rivalry between Hussain, also known as Tablet Arif, and Topi Noufal, a gangster who passed away last year under suspicious circumstances after being struck by a train. Investigators believe that Hussain’s celebration of Noufal’s death incited anger among Noufal’s associates, both within India and abroad, prompting them to conspire and carry out Hussain’s assassination.
A senior official from the Karnataka police stated, “The rival gang members harbored a deep-seated grudge against Hussain, having previously attacked him. His celebration of a gang member’s death served as an additional motive.”
The arrested individuals have been identified as Rifath Ali, Juttu Ashfaq, Khaleel, Shakir, Irfan, and Rizwan, along with Irshad, who is believed to have played a crucial role in facilitating the murder by providing accommodation and transportation for the assailants. Police Commissioner Sudheer Reddy announced these arrests on April 9.
Investigations revealed that the involved gang had made significant efforts to erase their traces, with international associates supplying foreign SIM cards and generating one-time passwords (OTPs) for the phones utilized in the communications surrounding the conspiracy and its execution.
Some suspects currently residing in Gulf countries are believed to have coordinated financial support, arranged vehicles, monitored police activity, and supplied international phone numbers for encrypted communication applications, according to police reports.
On the night of his murder, Hussain, who had a history of criminal activity in Mangaluru, was discovered lifeless next to his motorcycle on the Thokkottu flyover after departing from his home in Talapady village around 3:30 AM to head to the Mangalore dock where he worked.
Initial observations at the crime scene suggested it was an accident, but investigations revealed that he had been murdered. It is alleged that a group of six attackers caused an accident involving Hussain’s motorcycle on the flyover, an area that apparently lacked CCTV surveillance, before subsequently killing him.
A vehicle, a Toyota Innova registered in Kerala and suspected to be involved in the incident, was later found abandoned in a village near the jurisdiction of the Vitla police on the same day as the murder.
In the aftermath of the incident, Hussain’s teenage son lodged a police report, asserting that his father was forcibly knocked off his Enfield Bullet motorcycle and fatally attacked with sharp weapons by unknown assailants. The report implicated Hussain’s rival, Rifath Ali, as a potential suspect.
Hussain reportedly exhibited no remorse following the death of Noufal, a long-standing adversary at the docks, who was discovered deceased on a railway track. In 2022, Noufal and his associates had allegedly attempted to murder Hussain over a financial dispute.
Involved in the fish trading business at the Mangaluru dock, Hussain had accumulated nine criminal cases over the past twenty years and was previously listed among the city’s known rowdies.
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