Sketches of two suspects, who killed noted Kannada scholar and researcher MM Kalburgi on August 30, were released on Wednesday by the state police. The state CID has begun a probe into the murder.
“Yes, we have released sketches of two suspects who killed Kalburgi. It is uploaded on our website for everyone to see. Before handing over the case to the CID, we were working on sketches of the suspects,” Pandurang H Rane, Police Commissioner, Hubballi-Dharwad Police said.
Rane said city police had begun working on sketches of the suspects, based on their physical description. The description was provided by witnesses who were questioned.
The Karnataka government has decided to hand over the case to the CBI. The state CID will investigate the murder until then.
Rane said that Superintendent of Police D C Rajappa, who is leading the CID team, had visited Kalburgi’s house on Tuesday and had spoken to family members. Rajappa declined to divulge any information and said that he was “busy with the investigation.”
Police sources said that Karnataka police had also visited Maharashtra to collect clues, if any.
Both Maharashtra police and the Karnataka CID team are trying to ascertain if there is any link between Kalburgi’s murder and the killings of Marathi author and rationalist Narendra Dabholkar and CPI leader Govind Pansare.