The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has taken Hanumesh Nayak, former Zilla Panchayat member, into custody in connection with the sensational Yellalinga murder case in Koppal district.
The officers and the local police went to Hanumesh’s residence in Hulihyder village of Gangavati taluk on Sunday and took him to Bengaluru for questioning.
The police have stepped up vigil in the village as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order, according to P. Raja, Superintendent of Police.
Yellalinga (17), a student, was allegedly murdered for exposing irregularities in laying road and drainage works in Kanakapur village under the Hulihyder Gram Panchayat.
On January 20, his body was found near a railway track in Koppal. A case of suicide was registered by the Railway police. After his parents suspected murder, allegedly by Hanumesh and others, the Koppal police took up the case and began investigation in April.
By May 15, the police arrested three persons, including Mahantesh Nayak, Hanumesh’s son, and his friends Manoj and Durgappa. In the subsequent week, the police also took Balanagouda, gram panchayat member, Parsappa and Kaadu Manja into custody.
The issue took a political turn after the BJP and several progressive organisations demanded the arrest of Hanumesh, who is accused number three in the First Information Report.
The BJP, led by State president Pralhad Joshi, also launched a campaign ‘Tangadgi hatao; Koppal Jilla bachao’, demanding that Shivaraj Tangadgi, Minister of State for Minor Irrigation and district in-charge, be sacked for allegedly protecting the accused.
On June 19, the State government handed over the case to the CID.
