Gadag murder case: Civic head’s stepson arrested

The investigations revealed that Vinayak, step-son of Sunanda, had purportedly offered ₹65 lakh to contract killers to execute the murder.

Days after the murder of four members of a family in Belagavi, the police in Gadag have arrested Vinayak Bakale, son of one of the victims and the key accused, and seven contract killers on Monday.

Four members of a family were found dead in a house at Dasana Oni near Channamma circle on April 19 (Getty Images)

Gadag superintendent of police BS Nemagouda said that four members of a family were found dead in a house at Dasana Oni near Channamma circle on April 19. The police said that the deceased have been identified as the son of Gadag-Betageri municipal corporation vice president Sunanda Bakale, Karthik (27), and her relatives Parushram (55), wife Lakshmi (45) and their daughter Aakankasha (17). They were residents of Koppal district and had come to Gadag on April 17 to finalise Karthik’s wedding date. He said that the incident happened between 2 am and 3 am when the victims were sleeping in two rooms on the first floor of Sunanda’s house.

Nemagouda further said that the investigations have revealed that Vinayak, step-son of Sunanda, had purportedly offered ₹65 lakh to contract killers to execute the murder. He had already disbursed ₹2 lakh as an advance payment. “Just in 72 hours of the crime, we cracked the murder mystery that stunned the state, by arresting eight accused including Vinayak,” he added.

The police arrested Maharashtra-based contract killer twin brothers Sahil Khaji and Sohel Khaji (19), Fairoj Khaji (29), Jishan Khaji (24), Sultan Shaikh (23), Mahesh Salunkhe (21), and Wahid Bepari (21), all from the Gadag district.