Shrikanth Shetty, a hardline Hindutva speaker from Karnataka, has built his public identity on open incitement, militant calls to arms, and sustained anti-Muslim mobilisation. On May 25, 2025, during a VHP-Bajrang Dal rally in Bajpe, Mangalore, Shetty delivered a bloodthirsty speech just weeks after the murder of rowdy-sheeter Suhas Shetty. He warned of retaliation, boasted that 40% of those present were history-sheeters like him, and launched into communal conspiracies. 

Muslims working in Middle Eastern countries, he claimed, were importing extremist ideologies and instigating riots in India. He accused Kerala and Malabar-based “contract killers” of targeting Hindu leaders using hawala funds and pushed the familiar bogey of “love jihad” to fan paranoia.

Shetty was booked by Bajpe police for inflammatory remarks alongside VHP leader Bhujang Kulal. While Kulal was arrested, Shetty remained absconding. 

This wasn’t Shetty’s first public descent into hate speech. On October 4, 2022, speaking before a crowd of 10,000 during a Hindu Jagarana Vedike rally in Udupi, Shetty demanded that every Hindu household keep weapons and “worship weapons, not mixers or grinders” during Ayudha Pooja. He asked Hindus to develop a mindset to use those weapons when needed. 

Amidst the hijab row, Shetty praised the Hindu Jagarana Vedike for provoking Hindu boys to “expose” Muslim girls, and warned that saffron turbans in colleges would soon turn into “a thousand swords.” That rally was joined by Udupi BJP MLA Raghupathi Bhat, who was also central to the hijab controversy.