week after M.M. Kalburgi was shot dead at his residence in Kalyan Nagar, Dharwad, the probe into the case has almost hit dead end, leaving investigators clueless.
While the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is yet to take up the case, the fact that the > investigations by Karnataka police has made no headway so far has raised fears that the probe may be similar to those into the murders of Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare, which are still inconclusive.Apart from coming out with two portraits of the assailants, “we haven’t been able to conclusively establish whether the assailants spoke in Kannada or Marathi, which could have given a direction to the probe,” a senior official said in Bengaluru, adding that as the days passed hope was fading.
In the absence of solid leads from the crime scene or the >call detail records (CDR) of Kalburgi, the CID probing the case is working to eliminate various suspects.
A senior official involved in the probe said they had by now ruled out property dispute within the family and Kalburgi’s run-in with government officials when he headed two literary research institutes.
Girish Patattanashetti reports from Hubballi:
The families of Kalburgi, Dabholkar and Pansare have decided to wait for another week to see if the CID sleuths of Karnataka make a breakthrough in the case before taking a delegation to meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Megha Pansare, the daughter-in-law of slain rationalist Pansare, was in Dharwad on Sunday along with a few others from the Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti to meet the family of Kalburgi.
Police are laidback: Ashis Nandy New Delhi Staff Reporter writes:
A group of eminent citizens of Delhi, including writers, social thinkers and retired judges, have sent a letter to Mr. Siddaramaiah > condemning the murder of Kalburgi and the slow pace of the investigation.
Renowned sociologist Ashis Nandy, at a meeting held in New Delhi on Sunday, said the letter was not just a mark of protest against the cold-blooded murder, but also the way the investigation was being carried out by the local police.
“The police are so laidback about the incident that they questioned the neighbours three days after the incident,” Mr. Nandy said.
Security withdrawn He said that Kalburgi was provided police protection, but it was taken away after he said he did not want security.
“The police just took it easy. They should have kept an eye [on him]… this is very absurd. This is the third time that something like this has happened,” Mr. Nandy added.
The meeting was also attended by many eminent members of Delhi’s Kannada community.
