The Hubballi-Dharwad police, who are presently probing the murder of M.M. Kalburgi, have said that at this juncture it was like a “blind case” with no leads whatsoever.
Panduranga Rane, who took charge as the Commissioner of Hubballi-Dharwad on Monday, told The Hindu that the probe was being conducted with an open mind. All angles, including the involvement of right-wing fringe elements and personal enmity, are being investigated.
Mr. Rane said that as was being speculated, there were no CCTV cameras at Kalburgi’s residence and no image or footage of the assailants was available. “The assailants chose Sunday early morning deliberately. None seems to have noticed the registration number of their bike. The description of the assailants and the bike is also inconclusive,” he said.
Meanwhile, the State Intelligence has gone into an overdrive and are on the task of ascertaining the movements of suspected right-wing fringe group leaders in the State. Their call detail records (CDR) are being analysed to see their contacts in the last few weeks.
Property dispute? The police said that preliminary investigations had revealed that Kalburgi had intervened in a property dispute within the close family circle.
“The family claimed that the dispute was settled and denied that it may have led to the murder. However, considering the rampant gun culture and ‘supari’ gangs active in the belt, this angle is being probed too. The way in which the murder was carried out using suspected hitmen with a country-made weapon is chillingly similar to many murders in the Vijayapura belt. A special team has left for Vijayapura to probe,” a senior official said.
