BENGALURU: While the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) insists that its investigation is headed in the right direction and that they have leads on Dr Kalburgi’s killers, family members of Kalburgi and other writers have expressed their reservations over the pace of the probe.
Speaking to Express, writer Giraddi Govindaraju said that ever since the brutal murder, there was suspicion that it was linked to two other murders of rationalists in Maharastra - Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare.
“It appears that the murder was well planned and executed so as to conceal the identity of the assailants. There are also reports which indicate that even the weapons used in these murders were the same,” he said. Police still have no clue about the persons or organisations behind this. It won’t be surprising if there is a conspiracy to brush the case under the carpet, he added.
Delay discouraging
Another writer, Yogesh Master, who is also a victim of attacks and life threats, said the delay by CID in cracking the case was discouraging. “It will stifle the voices of people who want to express their views against fundamentalism and superstition,” he said.
Describing the inability of police to nab the culprits as a ‘big failure’ of the system, he said that such lapses pose a threat to the freedom of expression and will curb the voices of progressive thinkers. “There is little effort being made to bring the case to a logical conclusion. It is likely that the people behind the murders of Pansare and Dabholar are behind this too,” he added.
Meeting with CM
According to sources, members of M M Kalburgi’s family and his close friends met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recently, urging him to ensure justice in the case. Siddaramaiah had assured the family that the culprits will be brought to book.
When contacted, Director General of Police (CID) H C Kishore Chandra said the case is still under investigation. To a question he said that case is still being pursued as they have “some leads”. He denied any arrests in the case so far and said that it will be brought to the attention of the public if any arrests are made.