With no concrete leads in the investigations into the murder of veteran Kannada scholar M.M.Kalburgi in Dharwad on Sunday, the State Government has decided to write to the Centre seeking a Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) probe into the case. In the meantime, the Crime Investigations Department of the state police will begin probing the case.
On Monday, the writer was cremated with state honours, attended by thousands of his students and fellow-scholars in Dharwad. Kalburgi was shot dead by two motorcycle borne unknown assailants around 8.40 a.m. at his residence in Dharwad. He was rushed to the District Civil Hospital, but was declared dead on arrival by the doctors.
“Since giving Kalburgi’s murder case to the CBI will take time, we have decided to conduct a probe by the CID before it is handed over,” Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T B Jayachandra told presspersons after the Cabinet meeting on Monday in Bengaluru.
Sources in the police department said that there were no specific leads from the scene of crime and there was also no CC TV footage to identify the assailants. Making the task tougher is the fact that there are no eye witnesses who could identify the assailants. “we are pursuing all angles with an open mind.” said a senior police official. Both the possibility of the involvement of right wing fringe groups or other possible motives leading to the murder were being probed, said the source.
