'Training camp for terrorists who assassinated M M Kalburgi was held in Dakshina Kannada'

News Network

July 8, 2019

Newsroom, Jul 8: The final ‘training camp’ for the terrorists who assassinated rationalist thinker Prof M M Kalburgi around four years ago was organised in Dakshina Kannada district, according to the Special Investigation Team of the Karnataka police.

According to SIT sources, key suspect Praveen Prakash Chatur, who was arrested on May 31, took the police to a rubber plantation at Dharamsthala in the coastal district, last month and said that is where he was trained for the murder.

Chatur drove the motorcycle that took the shooter, Ganesh Miskin, to Kalburgi’s home on August 30, 2015.

The owner of the rubber plantation – businessman K. Ananth Kamath – is a known associate of the extremist Hindu group Sanatan Sanstha and its affiliate Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS). He is even mentioned on the HJS website, as a “devout Hindu”.

When contacted Kamath, he said he had “no idea” about his estate being used for such training. “If I knew I would not allow it,” he said.

Kamath’s name has also come up in the investigation into the killing of Bangalore-based journalist Gauri Lankesh. Amit Degwekar, a Sanstha member arrested in the case, mention Kamath as being involved in the planning activities.

In the Lankesh case as well, several suspects have talked about attending a training camp at a rubber plantation in the Dharamsthala region. Chatur was reportedly taken the the plantation as the police hoped to find bullets or cartridges there, but failed to do so.

The Sanatan Sanstha and HJS have been linked to the murders of Kalburgi, Lankesh, Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare. The chargesheet in the Lankesh assassination refers to the killing as an “organised crime” by the Sanatan Sanstha. In his confession, Dabholkar’s shooter said a right-wing group had trained him in shooting, bomb-making and ideology in the days before the assassination.

Comments

In South Kanara particular areas are fully enaged with such anctvities. Please send Ananth Kamath for Narcotic

test with live telecast. Let the whole nation to know what is right and wrong with these Desh Drohis.

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‘Have letter, next step is...’: MUDA on Siddaramaiah’s wife’s offer to return plots

News Network

October 1,2024

Mysuru: The Mysuru land authority at the centre of a financial and political storm - involving Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and alleged losses of ₹ 45 crore to the state - has received an offer of restitution from his wife, the urban development body's Commissioner, AN Raghunandan said.

"I am in possession of a letter written by Siddaramaiah's wife regarding her intention to return 14 plots (of land). The Chief Minister's son, Yatindra Siddaramaiah, came to our office and delivered the letter. We will take legal advice for the next step..." he told reporters in Mysuru.

Mr Raghunandan also confirmed anti-corruption officials from the city's Lokayukta branch had written seeking cooperation in its inquiry into the charges against the Chief Minister.

He said the Mysuru Urban Development Authority, or MUDA, "will cooperate with the investigation".

The Enforcement Directorate, however, have not reached out as yet, Mr Raghunandan said. The ED, a federal agency, has filed a money laundering case against Siddaramaiah.

There have also been calls for the CBI, another federal agency, to investigate charges against the Chief Minister, but that appears unlikely now given the Karnataka government has withdrawn general consent for its operations in the state. Law Minister HK Patil made the announcement last week.

He ruled out any link with demands for the Chief Minister to be investigated by the CBI, which reports to the BJP-led central government and the ruling Congress and other opposition parties have claimed is being used by that party to target rival leaders, particularly before elections.

On Monday - three days after the Lokayukta filed a case against the Chief Minister, and hours after the ED launched its probe- Siddaramaiah's wife said she had planned to give up the land earlier but was advised against it the allegations against her husband are "politically motivated".

But now, she said, she had made up her mind as "no house, plot, or wealth is more important than my husband's honor, dignity, and peace of mind". She also said the decision was hers alone; "... I am not aware of my husband's opinion on this matter, nor do I concern myself with what my son thinks".

And, in a comment seen as a calculated swipe at the opposition BJP, which is leading calls for the Chief Minister's resignation, his wife also made an emotional appeal to "all political parties and the media" to "please not drag women of political families into the controversy to settle political scores".

Investigative action against the Chief Minister follows the Karnataka High Court quashing a challenge to Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot's order sanctioning Siddaramaiah's prosecution.

Subsequently a trial court ordered framing of charges and directed the Lokayukta to complete the investigation within three months. The ED case was filed based on the Lokayukta FIR.

Siddaramaiah faces an inquiry into claims Parvathi was allotted 14 plots of land in an upmarket Mysuru area as compensation for land elsewhere - holding a far lower value - taken for infrastructure projects.

The Chief Minister has denied all charges and refused calls to resign.

He has been backed by the Congress and his deputy, DK Shivakumar, who is also the state unit boss, and also by members of his cabinet, including IT Minister Priyank Kharge. However, some within the Congress also want him to quit, such as former Assembly Speaker KB Koliwad.

"I will fight. I am not afraid of anything. We are ready to face the investigation. I will fight this legally," he said last week after the High Court had quashed his challenge to the Governor's sanction.

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