The Shivamogga police have cracked the Manjunath murder case that rocked Shivamogga in February.
The body of Manjunath, a resident of Mallikarjuna Nagar locality in the city, was found on an open ground near Gopala locality in the city early on February 21.
As the city was rocked by communal violence that erupted following a rally taken out by the Popular Front of India then, it was believed that Manjunath was killed by miscreants engaged in the violence.
The police investigation has now revealed that Mr. Manjunath was in fact murdered by his elder sister and her family because of a property dispute.
Superintendent of Police Ravi Channannanavar said at a press conference here on Saturday that six persons, including the elder sister of the victim, have been arrested for their alleged role in the murder.
The arrested are Dakshayinamma, elder sister of the victim, her son Arunkumar, daughter Netravathi, daughter-in-law Shwetha, and Arun and Durgesh, friends of Arunkumar.
Mr. Channannanavar said a special team was formed under Deputy Superintendent of Police Ram Arasiddi to probe the incident.
The police found that the victim had a dispute with family members over property.
Both parties had quarrelled frequently over it.
He said on February 20, Dakshayinamma, along with Arunkumar, Netravathi and Shwetha, conspired to kill Manjunath.
They invited him to their home for dinner.
Arunkumar, with the help of Arun and Durgesh, using lethal weapons, killed Manjunath.
The body was placed in a gunny bag, and thrown in the open ground.
To avoid suspicion, Dakshayinamma lodged a complaint with the Tunga Nagar police, alleging that her brother was killed by miscreants engaged in communal violence.
The police have booked cases under Section 302 and 201of the IPC against the accused.
