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'Murder or...': Minister waits on report of retd IB officer run over in Mysuru
The victim, RS Kulkarni retired in 1999 after serving in the IB for 35 years; in that time he also worked with the Research and Analytics Wing (RAW), officials said.
The death of a retired Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer in Karnataka's Mysuru - 83-year-old RS Kulkarni was mowed down by an unidentified vehicle while he was walking near the university campus - is being closely investigated and "a report will be out soon on whether it is murder or an accident", state home minister Araga Jnanendra told reporters Monday.
"We are investigating this matter closely," he was quoted by news agency ANI.
Inquiries into the death - which was initially thought to be an accident - took a dramatic turn Sunday after senior police officials suspected it could be murder.
Police at first registered a hit-and-run case but CCTV footage suggested otherwise - that the actions of the accused were deliberate; in the video the car could be seen swerving to one side to hit Kulkarni.
The action of the car and the fact it had no number plate aroused police officers' suspicions and a case of murder has been registered.
READ | Car mows down retired IB officer in Mysuru, cops suspect murder
The victim was not walking but standing on the side of the road. CCTV footage shows a car without a number plate came and intentionally hit him from behind, police told ANI Sunday.
L Harish, the Inspector at the Jayalakshmipuram Police Station, said Kulkarni was staying on the university campus and used to go for a walk in the area every morning and evening.
He was rushed to a hospital after he was run down but died later the same day.
Kulkarni's family had approached the police after the CCTV footage emerged.
"We cremated the body thinking it was an accident but it has been found a car purposely hit him... it is murder. We have filed a complaint..." his son-in-law, Venkatesh, said.
Kulkarni retired in 1999 after serving in the IB for 35 years. He also worked with the Research and Analytics Wing (RAW) and authored three books, including 'Facets of terrorism in India', which was released by union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
With input from ANI
