Come clean on Kalburgi murder probe, activists tell govt

Intellectuals and social activists on Tuesday gave state government two weeks to make a formal public statement on what it is doing to trace the killers of researcher and rationalist Dr M M Kalburgi.

People from a cross-section of society converged here under the auspices of ‘Dr Kalburgi, Pansare, Dabholkar Hatya Virodhi Vedike’ to mark the first anniversary of the renowned scholar’s murder. They took out a silent rally from ‘Soujanya’, Kalburgi’s residence at Kalyan Nagar, passed through main streets of the city and converged at the RLS ground. The scholar was shot dead at point blank range at his residence on August 30, 2015.

The convention asked the government to make tangible efforts in the case and update Kalburgi’s family on the status of investigation.

Writers G N Devy, Rajendra Chenni, Narahalli Balakrishna, B T Lalita Naik, Siddalinga Pattenashetty and family members of Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar from Maharashtra took part in the programme. “The Special Investigation Team made some progress in the murder of my father and arrested some people only after the Bombay High Court took it to task. The Karnataka police have no clue on the killers of Dr Kalburgi even after a year of his death,” said Mukta Dabholkar, daughter of Dr Dabholkar. She said the High Court of Karnataka could expedite the investigation in the Kalburgi murder case.

‘Killers will be nabbed soon’
Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday reiterated his confidence that the CID would apprehend the killers of Kalburgi “shortly,” reports DHNS.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he insisted that the CID had made “steady progress” in the case. He said that a large number of police personnel were working on the case and that the CID was in regular touch with the CBI which is hunting for the killers of Dabholkar.  “The government has taken serious note of the case. We consider it a national issue. Just because it’s been a year since the murder, it doesn’t mean investigation has slowed down,” he said.