A case has been registered against Raju Kapanur, a close aide of Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge, and five others in connection with an alleged conspiracy to murder BJP MLA Basavaraj Mattimadu and other prominent leaders, the police confirmed on Sunday.
The case was filed following the shocking revelation in a suicide note written by civil contractor Sachin Panchal, who took his own life by lying in front of an approaching train on Thursday. In the note, Panchal accused Kapanur and his associates of making threats to kill BJP leaders, including Mattimadu, Siddalinga Swami of Andola Math, Manikanth Rathod, and Chandu Patil, PTI reported.
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Panchal, a contractor from Bidar, named the Congress leaders in his final note, which has raised serious concerns. According to reports, the family members of Panchal are now holding local officials responsible for his death.
In a show of solidarity, Bidar District-In Charge Minister Eshwar Khandre, who oversees the forest portfolio, visited Panchal’s residence in Bhalki Taluk. During the visit, Panchal’s family members expressed their anger, accusing the officials of negligence and demanding justice. Khandre, while consoling the family, assured them that strict action would be taken against the accused.
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“The government will ensure that justice is done, and the accused persons are punished. Government is with you,” Khandre said. The minister further announced an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh to Panchal’s family members.
Khandre also mentioned that he had intervened after the police initially refused to file a case, and that senior officials had been alerted. Additionally, he suggested that the Government Railway Police (GRP) was handling the suicide case, though the investigation could be handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
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The incident has caused a stir within political circles, with the BJP taking the allegations seriously. BJP state president BY Vijayendra accused Kapanur of orchestrating a ‘supari’ (contract killing) and demanded that the case be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
“The death note written by Panchal, a contractor from Bidar who committed suicide due to harassment by Minister @PriyankKharge’s right-hand man, Raju, reveals alarming and serious information that he had given ‘Supari’ (contract killing) to kill our MLA Basavaraj Mattimadu, BJP leaders Chandu Patil, Manikantha Rathod and Andola Swami,” the party’s state president B Y Vijayendra said in a statement.
In response, Priyank Kharge, the son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, rejected the BJP’s claims, labeling them baseless. Kharge argued that his name was not mentioned in Panchal’s suicide note and suggested that the financial dealings between Panchal and Kapanur should be investigated further.
(With PTI Inputs)
