Belagavi: Missing monk’s body recovered, two arrested

Police arrested the accused on Friday. A case against the two has been registered under sections 302 (murder) and 204 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code, officials said.

Police have found the chopped body parts of a Jain monk who allegedly went missing two days ago from his ashram in Hirekodi village of Karnataka’s Belagavi district, officers familiar with the developments said on Saturday, adding that two people, including the prime accused, have been arrested in connection with the incident.

According to the officials, the accused initially tried to mislead the police investigation by providing wrong information. (HT Photo)

According to officials, the monk, Acharya Sri Kamakumara Maharaj of Nandi Parvat Jain ashram at Hirekodi village in Chikkodi taluk of the district, was allegedly murdered over a money dispute.

“The accused brutally murdered the monk, chopped his body into pieces and dumped it into a borewell on the outskirts of the village on July 6. The incident came to light on Saturday when an investigation into the monk’s last visitors in the ashram led the police to prime accused and subsequently the victim’s body, officials said.

Deputy superintendent of police (DSP) of Chikkodi division, Basavaraj Yaligar, who refused to disclose the identity of the accused, told HT that the prime accused was a devotee of the ashram run by the monk.

“Muni Aacharya Kamakumar who is running ‘Aacharya Kaamakumar Nandi Charitable Trust’ used to lend loans on interest to the devotees and other people. A few years ago, the prime accused 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 DSP said.

“Muni Kamakumar often used to harass the accused to repay his loan with interest. 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 murdered him,” he added.

Police arrested the accused on Friday. A case against the two has been registered under sections 302 (murder) and 204 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code, officials said.

Based on the information provided by the accused, police dug the borewell in an agricultural field in Khadakbhavi village in Raibag taluk adjoining Chikkodi taluk to recover parts of the monk’s body. The agriculture field belongs to the prime accused, officials said.

On Friday (please check), Aacharya Kamakumar Nandi Charitable Trust president Bhimappa Ugare filed a missing complaint with the Chikkodi police, which interrogated the visitors at the ashram. Based on the information gathered from the staff, police arrested the duo, who confessed to the crime.

According to the officials, the accused initially tried to mislead the police investigation by providing wrong information.

“First, they said they had dumped the body in an open well at Khadakbhavi, following which the police completely pumped out the water. Later, they said that the body was thrown into the Krishna River. However, the body was not found at the place as the river dried up,” said an official, adding that the mortal remains of the monk were sent to a forensic laboratory in Bengaluru for identification.

Meanwhile, Belagavi superintendent of police (SP) Sanjeev Patil, who visited the ashram, appealed to the devotees and people to maintain peace and not to respond to any rumours.

He warned of initiating stringent actions against those spreading false news. Heavy police security has also been deployed in Hirekodi village.