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12 more detained after monk found murdered in Karnataka
The police have taken 12 more people into custody for questioning in the murder case of a Jain monk in Karnataka's Belagavi district.
The Chikkodi Police crime squad, which cracked the murder case of Jain monk Kaamakumar Nandi of Aacharya Kaamakumar Nandi Aashram in Hirekodi village of Karnataka’s Belagavi district, took at least 12 more people into custody for questioning on Sunday, officials said.
“Although both the accused, arrested on Saturday, confessed that they were solely responsible for the murder of the monk, the police are conducting additional investigations as the motive behind the murder is believed to be related to a money matter,” deputy superintendent of police (DySP) Basavaraj Yaligar told HT.
A few years ago, the prime accused, also a devotee of the Aashram, took a loan of ₹6 lakh from the trust against his agriculture field. However, he was unable to repay the loan on time, and the interest payable on the loan reached about ₹1 lakh. The accused alleged that the monk often used to harass the accused to repay his loan with interest and threatened to sell the field kept as collateral for the loan.
Unable to bare the alleged harassment, the accused, with a known person, went to the ashram at around 10 pm on July 6, took the monk outside in a vehicle and hacked him to death, police said.
“Later, the monk’s body was chopped into seven pieces and dumped into a 400-foot deep borewell. The body parts were wrapped in a saree and a towel before being dumped. Some of the body parts got stuck at depths of 25 feet and 30 feet inside the borewell,” Yaligar, the investigating officer, said.
“Two earthmoving JCB machines were used to dig the borewell, which was dug by the prime accused in his field. The borewell turned out to be dry, as no water was found even after reaching a depth of about 400 feet,” he added.
Police arrested the accused on July 7from from Khadakbhavi village in Chikkodi taluk. A case against the two has been registered under sections 302 (murder) and 204 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code, police said.
The mortal remains of the body were handed over to the monk’s family on Saturday, and the cremation took place in Hirekodi village on Sunday afternoon under strict police supervision.
Hundreds of people participated in the last rites of monk Kaamakumar Nandi.
To condemn the incident, Jain youth from Halaga and Bastawad villages in Belagavi taluk held a protest rally from Suvarna Vidhan Soudha to Belagavi, demanding capital punishment for the accused.
Addressing a joint news conference in Belagavi on Sunday, Belagavi South Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Abhay Patil and former party MLA Sanjay Patil, both belonging to the Jain community, condemned the incident and called for the attachment of the accused’s property to deliver justice to the grieving community.
Patil, who is running an educational institution in Belagavi and also in a few surrounding places, said, “Jains not only trust in Ahimsa (non violence) but also not to cheat anyone including in business. Though the deceased monk helped the needy financially, he never cheated or harassed anyone. The harassment allegation which the accused were levelled is false.”
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah also expressed shock over the murder of Jain monk Kaamakumar Nandi and how the accused attempted to dispose of the body.
Speaking to news persons in Haasan on Sunday, he described it as “horrible” and stated that the police had swiftly arrested two accused individuals who had confessed to the crime. “I appreciate the Belagavi Police for their prompt action and have instructed them not to spare a single person directly or indirectly involved in the crime,” Siddaramaiah said.
The chief minister appealed to the people not to respond aggressively and assist the police in maintaining law and order. “Jains are peace-loving people. They believe and practice Ahimsa Paramodharma, even in the face of injustice in their community. I hope they respond with restraint to the monk’s killing,” Siddaramaiah said.
