Deceased Yogesh Gowda (left) and accused Vinay Kulkarni
BENGALURU:
The Central Bureau of Investigation, probing the murder of former BJP Zilla panchayat member Yogesh Gowda, has arrested one more person in connection with the case,sources said on Monday. With the arrest of Chandrashekhar Indi, the number of those arrested in the case has gone up to eight.
Indi is a relative of former Congress minister Vinay Kulkarni who has already been arrested in the case, the sources said.
He had allegedly supplied the weapon to the main accused Basappa Shivappa Muttagi, sources in the CBI told PTI.
“Muttagi obtained the weapon from Indi, which was used in killing Gowda,” a CBI official said on the condition of anonymity.
Indi used to attend all the hearings relating to the case and allegedly used to influence the witness, the sources added.
Gowda, a BJP Zilla Panchayat member, was killed in his gym in Dharwad by unidentified men on June 15, 2016.
Gowda”s murder was a result of political rivalry as Kulkarni, the then MLA and minister, had allegedly asked him not to contest the Zilla Panchayat elections, which the former had refused, according to the agency’s probe.
Kulkarni and Gowda had heated exchanges on several occasions, and a “serious altercation” took place during a Zilla Panchayat meeting chaired by Kulkarni on April 22, 2016, the CBI has said.
The agency has claimed that the altercation triggered the conspiracy to murder Gowda. PTI
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