Observers say that after the 2002 Gujarat riots, Riyaz started getting close to a few radical youths of Bhatkal following the Salafi way, a puritanical form of Islam. Most Muslims in Bhatkal follow ...

Uttara Kannada is susceptible to communal tensions between Muslims and Hindus. There has been a rise in Islamist groups here. Bhatkal in particular, is an area with a large Muslim population.