Mangaluru, 7 Oct

The body of younger brother of former Karnataka MLA Mohideen Bava has been found in Phalguni river mouth on Monday after 12 hours of search, police said.

BM Mumtaz Ali (52) was reported missing since Sunday morning and his badly damaged car was found abandoned near the Kulur bridge, they said.

Ali, a prominent businessman and chairman of the Misbah Group of Educational Institutions, is a well-known figure in the local community.

According to police, he left his residence in his vehicle around 3 am on Sunday, roaming around the city before parking near the Kullur Bridge around 5 am.

Alarmed by his last communication, his daughter immediately contacted the local police.

His disappearance prompted a large-scale search operation, with family members, including Bawa, present at the scene, police said.

An FIR had already been registered at Kavoor police station against six accused, including a woman, who had allegedly threatened, blackmailed, and extorted lakhs of rupees from Ali, with demands for even more money.

Confirming the recovery of the body, Mangaluru Police Commissioner Anupam Agarwal told PTI that investigation was ongoing to ascertain the cause of his death.

"We deployed teams of NDRF (National Disaster Response Force), SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) and fire department. Around six teams were working continuously to trace the body... This morning, at 6 am, we resumed operation and we found the body around 10.15 am. The body was shifted to hospital for post-mortem and further examination," he told reporters here.

The victim's family alleged that he was subjected to blackmailing since last couple of months. People were threatening him to pay money or his videos would be released, he said.

"As per the information of the family members, there were some sex videos on the basis of which, he was being blackmailed. He paid some Rs 50 lakh in this process. He was further pressurised to pay more money," he said

According to him, based on the complaint received by the family members, a case was registered under sections of extortion and other relevant sections. They have named six people, who were part of this gang and were blackmailing him.

"After recovering of body, we have added section of abetment to suicide in this case. We will be taking up further investigation. All the six people named in the FIR are currently absconding. Our teams are searching them and hopefully, we will nab them soon," Agarwal added.

The body was taken to the city’s AJ Hospital for post-mortem, police said.-PTI