Kalburgi Killing Linked to Murders of Dabholkar, Panasare?

The CID is exploring links between Kalburgi’s murder and the deaths of Govind Panasare and Narendra Dabholkar.

MM Kalburgi was shot in his home in Dharwad. (Photo: Twitter)

The investigation into the murder of Kannada scholar and rationalist intellectual MM Kalburgi has crossed state lines, with the investigation moving to Maharashtra. The CID team from Karnataka is exploring possible links between the murder of the Kalburgi in his home, to the murder of Narendra Dabholkar in 2013 and Govind Panasare in February 2015 in Maharashtra.

According to a report in The Hindu, the police believe that the 7.65 mm country made pistol used to kill Kalburgi is very similar to the weapon(s) used in the murder of Dabholkar and Panasare.

We have recovered bullet casings from Kalburgi’s house and have sent them for ballistic analysis. We are awaiting the report to compare it with the one in the Dabholkar case to see whether a similar weapon was used.
– Senior Police Official to The Hindu

If a there is a connection between the three murders, it would establish a systematic targeting of rationalists. Dharwad, where Kalburgi lived, is located close to the Maharashtra border.

No Leads in Karnataka

Despite monitoring the calls of known fringe right-wing groups, the Karnataka police has not found any leads within the state. The police are still keeping an eye on Bhuvith Shetty, a Bajrang Dal activist who had put out a tweet on the day of Kalburgi’s murder threatening KS Bhagwan, another rationalist scholar.