Kalburgi murder case: Sri Rama Sene chief Pramod Muthalik may sue Kannada authors
Sri Ram Sene, headed by Pramod Muthalik, was suspected to be involved in Kannada writer and rationalist MM Kalburgi's murder but the CID is yet to prove the organisation's involvement in the case.
Three weeks after well-known Kannada writer and rationalist Dr MM Kalburgi was gunned down by unidentified men at his home in Dharwad, Hindu group Sri Rama Sene, which many suspected was involved in Kalburgi's killing, has threatened to sue leading Kannada litterateurs for naming the organisation without any evidence. Meanwhile, the CID has not been able to make any breakthrough in the case.
The CID has interrogated over two dozen people and announced a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh for information, but they have not been successful in zeroing in on the suspects. Experts believe that it will not be a surprise if the case remains unsolved because the police have investigated two of the possible three angles, and believe that the third angle has emerged as the strongest.
Three motives were identified for Kalburgi's murder - firstly a property dispute involving Kalburgi's daughter; secondly his statements, which had angered the Lingayats (largest community in Karnataka) over discriminatory practices among themselves and thirdly, his comments on idol worship. The CID has investigated the first two angles and ruled out those motives.
The CID is now vigorously pursuing the third motive. "We strongly suspect that his comments on idol worship and priestly class forms the primary motive for his murder. Following his killing, there were few unsavoury comments from activists of the Bajrang Dal, but none that could be directly linked to the killers," added the officer.
Some of the comments made by the activists of the Sri Rama Sene prompted the police to question them. However, before the police could proceed with the investigation, a section of the Kannada litterateurs submitted a memorandum to the government urging it to examine the role of the Sri Rama Sene in the case. This led to a friction between the Sri Rama Sene and the litterateurs with two activists of the former threatening the latter with dire consequences before being arrested. Muthalik disowned the members, who had threatened the writers. "If the writers do not withdraw their statements, we will file a defamation case against them," he said.