MANGALURU:A district police team on Sunday succeeded in nabbing Gopalakrishna Gowda (67), the landlord who chopped the fingers of a tribal farmer from Belthangady.
Gowda was arrested at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh and was brought him to the city on Sunday.
Police also nabbed driver Vasanth Gowda from Hassan district on Saturday.
Though Beltangady police had succeeded in nabbing Gowda’s wife Pushpalatha the day after the incident, Gowda, his sister Damayanthi and her driver Vasanth Gowda had been absconding.
Gowda had used a grass mower to chop off Sundar’s fingers, while Vasanth, Damayanthi and Pushpalatha had sprinkled chilli powder on the victim’s wounds and eyes and assaulted him.
Superintendent of Police S D Sharanappa said: “Gowda had been shifting locations many times in order to avoid arrest. Sathish (Sullia Circle Inspector) and his team gathered information that Gowda was in Bengaluru. When they went to Bengaluru, they learnt that he had shifted to Puttaparthi a few days ago.”
Acting on a tip-off, the team nabbed Gowda from a lodge in Puttaparthi. As per information given by Gowda, Vasanth Gowda was arrested from a resort owned by Dinesh Karle of Goruru in Hassan district, where he was working.
Sharanappa said the reason of the incident was a land dispute. Gowda, Pushpalatha, Damayanthi and Vasanth Gowda had encroached Sundar Malekudiya’s land claiming that it belonged to them.