Pune: A notice was issued by the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and governments of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa in response to a petition filed in slain Kannada scholar and rationalist Malleshappa Madivalappa Kalburgi’s murder case.
The petition was filed by Umadevi Kalburgi, wife of the slain scholar in the SC on December 14, 2017. In the petition number 41108/2017 Uma Devi Kalburgi Vs Union of India, the petitioner also made the Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa governments, the NIA and the CBI respondents.
The writ petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution pleaded for issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other appropriate writ the State of Karnataka to appoint an independent dedicated investigation team of the Karnataka police under the supervision of a retired judge of the Supreme Court or High Court to conduct investigation into the Kalburgi murder and sought directions to other respondents to extend cooperation to such team.
Kalburgi was murdered on August 30, 2015 by two unidentified persons at his house in Dharwad. The assailants knocked on the door of his house and shot him dead shortly after his wife opened the door. The case was handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Karnataka police. The only finding made by the CID, with help of the Karnataka Forensic Science Laboratory is that that he was shot dead with a 7.65-mm
pistol.
According to the report, it was the same gun used for killing rationalist Govind Pansare in Kolhapur on February 16, 2015. It was revealed that out of the two guns used to shoot Pansare, one was used to kill rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in Pune on August 20, 2013. All the three rationalists were shot dead by a pair of unidentified men.
According to the Forensic Sciences Laboratory, the 7.65-mm gun, which was used to kill Kalburgi and Pansare, was also used to kill journalist Gauri Lankesh on September 5, 2017, outside her house in Bengaluru.
