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Karnataka monk’s murder: Tight vigil after accused threatens suicide in jail
On Thursday, the police retrieved the monk’s burnt personal diary which was allegedly set afire by the accused at the crime scene
Belagavi Police have tightened security around Narayan Mali, the prime accused in the murder of Jain monk Kaamakumar of Nandi Parvat ashram in Hirekodi village of the district, after he allegedly threatened to die by suicide in regret over the incident, officials said on Thursday.
Chikkodi division deputy superintendent of police (Dy SP) Basavaraj Yaligar, who is leading the investigation of the murder, told HT, “We were not that much worried in tracing the murder accused of the monk. However, we have to be much alert as the accused disclosed about ending his life. We have deployed additional police personnel to be with him and watch him round-the-clock to save him from taking the drastic step.”
As the Chikkodi court remanded Mali, with the other accused, Hasan Dalayat, to police custody till July 17, the special investigating squad has accelerated its efforts to gather material evidence and build a strong case.
On Thursday, the squad retrieved ashes from the burnt personal diary of the deceased monk, which Mali had set on fire at the crime scene after killing him.
According to police, the monk used to record important daily events, including details of the loan Mali had borrowed from him, in the diary. Aware of this incriminating evidence, Mali had taken possession of the diary and burned it in his village of Khatakabhavi. The police have collected the ashes as material evidence and sent them to a forensic laboratory in Bengaluru for testing.
“The monk had reordered the matter of the loan, which Narayan Mali had obtained from him in the diary. Mali knew this and managed to take it with him and burnt his village Khatakabhavi village,” the investigation officer said.
Mali, who was closely associated with monk Kaamakumar, had borrowed ₹6 lakh from the Aacharya Kaamakumar Nandi Parvat Charitable Trust but failed to repay it within the agreed-upon time. The interest on the loan had accumulated to ₹1 lakh. The monk frequently inquired about the repayment from Mali, causing him alleged mental distress, police said.
Unable to bear the alleged torment, Mali sought assistance from his friend Hasan Dalayat, who devised a plan to murder the monk. As per the plan, they lured the monk out of the ashram on the night of July 6. Mali reportedly took the monk’s diary before leaving, which was later burned after the murder, police said.
According to the police, the monk’s body was dismembered into seven pieces, wrapped in a saree and a towel, and disposed of in an abandoned well on Mali’s farm located near the ashram.
The body parts were found at a depth of approximately 25 to 30 feet in a borewell that was around 400 feet deep. Police used earth-moving JCB vehicles to excavate the well and recover the victim’s remains. The accused were arrested the day after the crime, the officer said.
Bhimappa Ugare, the president of Aacharya Kaamakumar Nandi Parvat Charitable Trust, had filed a missing complaint with Chikkodi police who, after nabbing the accused, registered a case under sections 302 (murder) and IPC 201 (attempting to destroy the evidence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against them.
