The Kundapur Police on Sunday arrested Pranesh Yadiyal, president of Yadamogga Gram Panchayat, on the charge of murdering Uday Ganiga (45) in the village on Saturday.
The Shankaranarayana Police said that Yadiyal ran his car over Ganiga when he was waiting by the roadside in the village on Saturday evening. Yadiyal and a few others in the car then assaulted an injured Ganiga with wooden logs. When villagers rushed to the spot, Yadiyal and his accomplices fled after abandoning the car. Ganiga died of injuries, before he could be taken to a hospital in Kundapur.
The police said that a search is on for Yadiyal’s associates, including Balachandra Bhat.
The police said that Ganiga was embroiled in a feud with Yadiyal as the latter had unnecessarily delayed granting no objection certificate to him for digging a borewell. Ganiga had also written about corrupt practices in the panchayat on social media platforms. Yadiyal and Bhat recently had had a heated exchange of words with Ganiga.
The police said that the two had also threatened to kill Ganiga. On Saturday evening, Ganiga left his house on his motorcycle after he received a call from a person who asked him to meet him on the main road. Soon after, Ganiga was run over by Yadiyal.
The police said that preliminary inspection of the crime site showed that it was not an accident but a deliberate act. On a complaint from Ganiga’s wife, Jyothi, the Shankaranarayana Police have registered a case under Sections 302 (murder), 109 (abetment) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code.
