A team of eight officials of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), led by Superintendent of Police Rakesh Ranjan, which had carried out an investigation into the murder of zilla panchayat member Yogeeshgouda Goudar, visited Dharwad on Monday to carry out some legal procedures pertaining to the case.
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Former Minister Vinay Kulkarni is a prime accused in the murder case and is barred from entering Dharwad district. BJP leader Yogeeshgouda was brutally murdered at his Uday Gym in Saptapur of Dharwad on June 15 in 2016. Although, the local police had initially taken up the investigation and arrested six persons who confessed to carrying out the murder, the case was subsequently handed over to CID by the then Congress government. However, the BJP had taken to streets to demanding a CBI investigation into the case alleging involvement of the then Minister Vinay Kulkarni in it.
Subsequently when BJP came to power, it handed over the case to CBI on September 24, 2019. The CBI then identified and arrested eight others accused in the case and filed a chargesheet on May 20, 2020.
In a subsequent development, Mr. Kulkarni was named a prime accused in the case and arrested by CBI. After having spent several months at Hindalga Jail in Belagavi, Mr. Kulkarni is out on bail now but is barred from entering Dharwad district. He contested the 2023 elections from Dharwad constituency without entering the constituency for campaigning and won.
The case is pending in the trial court. On Monday, Mr. Ranjan accompanied by Special Public Prosecutor Gangadhar Shetty visited the crime spot. The visit of the CBI team has given rise to speculations that the case could be resolved soon.