The Mangaluru Police on Tuesday arrested six persons for the murder of a 23-year-old Muslim man in Dakshina Kannada district’s Surathkal city last month, The News Minute reported.

Mohammed Fazil was killed on July 26, two days after Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha district secretary for Dakshina Kannada, Praveen Nettaru, was hacked to death by two unidentified bike-borne assailants in Bellare village.

In CCTV camera footage of the attack, Fazil was seen stepping out of what appears to be a garment shop. Moments later he was chased by a group of men, before they attack him with weapons and hoardings kept outside the shop.

On Tuesday, Mangaluru Police Commissioner Shashi Kumar identified the six accused persons as Suhas Shetty (29), Mohan (26), Giridhar (23), Abhishek (21), Srinivas (23), and 21-year-old Deekshith.

According to Kumar, Shetty led the men and they kept a close watch on Fazil for some days before the attack. All the accused men knew each other through common friends, he added.

Shetty has four cases pending against him, including one related to assaulting Muslim men and a murder case dating back to 2010, the police said, according to The News Minute.

When Kumar was asked if Fazil was killed in retaliation to the murder of Nettaru, the Mangaluru police commissioner said further interrogation was required to ascertain the motive, the Hindustan Times reported.

It is also yet to be found out why Fazil was chosen as a target.

On Sunday, the police had arrested the owner of the car used by the assailants to kill him. He was identified as Ajith Crasta, a resident of Kodikere in Surathkal.