BENGALURU: The assassins of writer and former vice-chancellor of Hampi Kannada University, Prof M M Kalburgi, have reportedly been identified by the Special Investigation Team, which is likely to file a chargesheet against them by May-end.
“The killers have been identified. The identification parade will be held soon in Dharwad as soon as officers are available. It is the same module, which is behind the killing of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh, but not all the 18 suspects who have been chargesheeted in her murder case are involved in the Kalburgi case. At least two men from North Karnataka have played an important role. They will be named in the chargesheet,” said an informed source on condition of anonymity.
The delay in filing the chargesheet is due to the lack of availability of officers, who are on duty for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. “Procedural investigation, like the identification parade, cannot be held in the absence of the officers concerned and the jurisdictional magistrate,” the source added.
Amol Kale, accused number one in the Gauri case, is reportedly a common link in the two murder cases. Amit Baddi, who is accused of ferrying the assailants soon after they shot Gauri, was also being interrogated for his alleged involvement in the Kalburgi case. But his involvement has so far not been “confirmed” in this case, said the source. “The investigation is, however, on,” he added.The SIT had submitted last November a 9,235-page chargesheet in the Gauri case.
The SIT, in its 9,235-page chargesheet in the Gauri case submitted last November, had stated that her murder was an organised crime, which was executed by people with alleged links to the Goa-based right-wing organisation Sanatan Sanstha. The Sanstha has however vehemently denied the charge.
The forensic link between the two cases was first confirmed by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Bengaluru, which, in its ballistic report, had stated that the same contraband 7.65mm pistol was used in the murders of Kalburgi and Gauri. Kalburgi was shot dead by two bike-borne assailants outside his house in Dharwad on August 30, 2015. The case was initially being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and handed over to the SIT in March this year on the direction of the Supreme Court, which was hearing a plea of the late scholar’s wife Uma Devi.
The SIT was constituted by the previous Siddaramaiah-led Congress government to investigate the murder of Gauri, who was shot dead by two bike-borne assailants outside her house in Rajarajeshwari Nagar in Bengaluru on September 5, 2017. The SIT, in November last year, while submitting the chargesheet against 18 persons in the Gauri murder case under the stringent provisions of Karnataka Control of Crimes Act (KCOCA) had stated that her murder was an act of “organised crime,” which was carried out by those associated with the Goa-based right wing organisation ‘Sanatan Sanstha.’ Sixteen of the 18 accused have been arrested. The Sanstha has denied its involvement.
The SC, on January 25, had observed that the four high-profile murder cases of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar in Pune, Govind Pansare in Kolhapur, Kalburgi and Gauri are part of a very serious case. Dabholkar murder case is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Pansare case is being probed by Maharashtra SIT.The investigation team in the two murder cases in Karnataka largely comprises of the same set of officers.