Kalburgi Murder Probe: Killers were given final training in a farm near Mangaluru
In the latest revelation in the probe of murder case of Kannada Scholar M M Kalburgi, an Indian Express report added that the suspected killers were given training in an alleged final training camp held on a rubber estate of a businessman from Mangaluru region.
M M Kalburgi, noted Kannada scholar was shot dead at his residence on August 30, 2015 aged 77.
The Indian Express report claims that the revelation was made during the probe by Special Investigation Team (SIT) in to the matter. According to the report a key suspect of the murder Praveen Prakash Chatur, who was arrested by the SIT in May this year, led the police team to a rubber plantation plot at Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada District last month and identified it as the place where he was allegedly trained days before the murder. Prakash has been identified as the rider of the bike in which the shooter Ganesh Miskin reached Kalburgi’s house.
The report quotes police sources to note that the rubber plantation estate to be belonging to Mangaluru businessman Ananth Kamath, who is known to be associated with the radical Sanatan Sanstha and its affiliate Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS).
Interestingly, Kamath’s name had also popped up in the case of murder of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh when an arrested suspect had indicated that Kamath allegedly provided vehicles to the killers to recce Gauri’s residence. Kamath was then questioned and released after the SIT did not find any incriminating evidence against him in the case.
When contacted by The Indian Express, Kamath said: “I have no information about the estate being used for such things. If I knew I would not allow it. I have not received information about any investigations on the property. The estate has been given on lease to a group from Kerala.” The rubber estate is located about one hour away from Dharamsthala, he said.
Several persons arrested in the Gauri Lankesh case have in statements, which are a part of the chargesheet, described attending a camp at a rubber plantation near Pilathbetta in the Dharamsthala region in August 2015.
“In 2015, in the month of August, a training camp was organized at a rubber plantation at Pilathbetta near Mangalore. Four of us from Belagavi went to Dharamsthala. Amol Kale, Mithun (alias Ganesh Miskin, the alleged shooter in the Kalburgi case), Govinda, Mechanic, Sharad Kalaskar, two Bengali speaking men were present at the camp. We travelled for an hour in a vehicle from Dharamsthala to get to the farm. There were two big godowns and a rubber plantation at the estate,’’ claims a witness in the Gauri Lankesh case in a statement that is part of the chargesheet.
One of the trainers is suspected to be a missing individual from the Ajmer, Mecca Masjid and Malegaon blast cases from the 2006-08 period.
After arresting Chatur in the Kalburgi case, the SIT took him to the site of the camp in the hope of finding bullets or cartridges but failed to find any such material, the report quotes sources
However, the site where the Sanstha members allegedly trained was found to belong to Kamath, and police would be assessing his suspected role in the training, sources said.
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Karnataka village switches off TVs, mobiles for two hours daily to help students study
Belagavi: Every evening at 7 pm, a siren rings out in Halaga, a village near Belagavi, signalling residents to switch off all screens including televisions, mobile phones, laptops and tablets for the next two hours.
The community has voluntarily adopted this “digital-free time” to help students focus on studies and to encourage families to spend more time talking to each other. The 'digital detox' initiative, 'No TV, no mobile, just study and conversation', is said to be the first such to be adopted by a Karnataka village, Deccan Herald reported on Monday.
According to the report, Halaga, which has a population of about 12,000 and is located close to the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, launched the initiative on December 17. A siren installed at the gram panchayat office marks the start of the no-screen period at 7 pm, and another siren at 9 pm signals its end.
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Gram panchayat authorities are reaching out to those residents who are yet to comply and are urging them to stay away from screen during the two hours.
Authorities are also visiting households that have not fully adopted the practice and are encouraging parents to follow the routine strictly. Teachers and panchayat members plan to continue meeting families to ensure more participation.
The Halaga village exercise is said to be inspired by a similar experiment in Agran Dhulgaon near Sangli in Maharashtra which had a positive response on students' learning habits.
