A bullet-riddled body of an unidentified person found in the forest stretch of Khanapur in Belagavi district, is now believed to bear a close resemblance to the sketch of one of the two assailants involved in the killing of scholar and researcher M.M. Kalburgi in Dharwad on August 30.
While the body of the person, said to be in the late 20s or early 30s, was found by villagers at Manakawadi on the morning of October 18, with two bullet injuries — one on the chest and another in the stomach — the Khanapura police had buried the body on Tuesday as no one had come forward to claim the body.
However, an undisclosed tip-off to the Belagavi police on Wednesday morning, saying there was close similarities between the sketch and the unclaimed body, sent the police into a tizzy.
The tip-off came in the wake of the police having circulated the photo of the dead person for identification purposes. The police recovered a bullet casing from the spot, and it is suspected that the bullets may have been fired from a country-made pistol, and that the man may have been killed on October 17.
“Prima facie there seems to be a match. However, since it is not a photograph, but a sketch, we cannot conclude it to be the same person. We cannot clearly state it is the same since the sketch is an approximation,” Belagavi Superintendent of Police B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda told The Hindu . Though the sketch and the face of the deceased appear to have some resemblance, he said there were no concrete features to establish a clear match.
In several instances, sketches of suspects released by the police are not complete, but indicate certain features only, he added.
As the news broke out, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (CID) Hemant Nimbalkar and Superintendent of Police D.C. Rajappa, who is the investigating officer in the Kalburgi murder, rushed to Belagavi.
The CID is likely to petition the Belagavi Deputy Commissioner, seeking his permission to exhume the body.
Meanwhile, the police have decided to show the photo of the body to Umadevi, the wife of the slain writer, and a neighbour, who had seen the assailants on the morning of the murder.
While Ms. Umadevi had seen the assailant, who shot her husband at their house, one of the Kalburgis’ neighbours had seen the assailant’s accomplice waiting on a motorcycle outside the house just before the two escaped from the crime scene.
The 77-year-old M.M. Kalburgi, who was known for his stand against superstitious practices, was shot dead by two unidentified assailants at his residence in Kalyan Nagar in Dharwad on August 30, triggering countrywide outrage.
