BENGALURU: The state government has ordered a probe by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) into the murder of researcher M M Kalburgi. The government will also write to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take up the case. The Cabinet, which met here on Monday, took a decision in this regard.
Kalburgi was shot dead at his Dharwad home on Sunday. Two bike-borne men knocked on his door, shot him at point-blank range and fled.
“The CID will start the probe immediately. Meanwhile, we will also write to the CBI to take up the case,” Law Minister T B Jayachandra told reporters after the meeting.
Asked about the need for a CID probe when the government wanted a Central investigation, the minister said the CBI would have to go through the case history and decide.
“It will certainly take time for all this to happen. Till then, the CID will investigate the matter so that no evidence is lost. Once the CBI decides to take up the case, the CID will hand over all evidence,” he said.
No Leads Yet: Police officers investigating Kalburgi’s murder are yet to get any lead. “The investigating team is looking into all angles,” said a senior police officer.
The officer, however, refused to divulge any details about the case, stating that it would not be right at this juncture to speculate on possible reasons for the murder or who did it.
When contacted, DG&IGP Om Prakash said the CID officers would reach Dharwad on Tuesday and take over the probe from the local police.
The special team of Dharwad police, which finalised a plan of action on Sunday, continued with the investigation on Monday.
Teams have been sent to Pune, other parts of Maharashtra and also Mangaluru to dig information on the movement of suspected assailants there, it is said.
The railway track near Kalyan Nagar where the sniffer dogs stopped on Sunday morning and the surrounding areas of the station, believed to be the hideout of the suspected persons, are under close watch, sources said.