A day after the 39-year-old airline crew member, Praveen Arun Chowgule, admitted to the murder of four members of a family, including a 12-year-old child, in Udupi, police took the accused to the crime scene on Thursday, said officials familiar with the matter.

During the evidence collection, however, police had to resort to the lathi charge after a mob gathered outside the crime spot and tried to attack the suspect.

Udupi superintendent of police Dr Arun K said, “During the spot inspection procedures, the friends and the family members of the victims gathered at the place and tried to block the movement of the police vehicle carrying the accused.”

Chowgule was taken to Trupti Layout in Nejar area— where he had committed the murders of Haseena (46) and her three children Ainaz (21), Afnan (23) and Aseem (12)— for spot inspection, said an officer. During the proceedings, hundreds of residents gathered near the spot, added the officer.

“At that moment we carried out a lathi charge and disbursed the crowd and the accused was taken back. The situation is peaceful. We will hold talks with the community leaders and request them to maintain peace,” the officer added.

The angry crowd which had gathered during the inquest process expressed outrage shouting slogans against the accused while demanding that the accused be handed over to them “who would deal with him”, said the officer quoted above.

“After the process was completed, the people in the crowd attempted to assault the accused,” added the officer , requesting anonymity. In response, the police resorted to lathi charge. Condemning the lathi charge, the people demonstrated a sit-in near the crime spot.

The accused, a colleague of one of the victims, was apprehended from Belagavi district by a special team of police on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Udupi’s first additional court had granted 14 days of police custody.

SP Arun K had earlier revealed during a media briefing that Chowgule, a cabin crew member with a prominent airlines based at Mangaluru airport, confessed to the crime during interrogation. He said that his intended target was Aynaz, but the other family members were killed as they tried to intervene. Chowgule, originally from Sangli in Maharashtra, had been residing in the area for several years and is married.

Providing details of the investigation, the senior police officer said that a switched-off phone helped the police track down the suspect. “Soon after the murder, since there were no valuables missing and because of the nature of the attack, we felt it was a crime of passion. So, we checked those close to the family members, which included colleagues as well. During this time, we found that the accused’s phone was turned off soon after the murder,” said the officer who didn’t want to be named.

“He was working at the Mangaluru airport . He is from Sangli in Maharashtra but has been living here for several years. He is married. After killing the four people, the accused travelled to Kudachi in Belagavi to spend Diwali with his uncle, an irrigation department engineer. We suspect he had turned off the phone to avoid detection. When he turned on the phone, we were able to track him,” the officer added.

The accused, after committing the murders had also changed clothes and used a strong perfume to mask the smell of blood, said the officer.

The officers, however, refused to share the motive of the murder. Even though an investigator privy to the probe indicated that the suspect was obsessed with his college Aynaz, the SP sought more time to verify the motive.

“There are three or four motives that the accused has disclosed and we will verify these aspects. Since there are aspects regarding the victim’s family which could hurt or defame them, it would be better to confirm the statements of the accused before disclosure,” SP Arun had told reporters.