Two years after Kannada scholar and rationalist Malleshappa Madiwalappa Kalburgi was shot dead by two unidentified assailants at his Dharwad residence in Karnataka, the investigating agency, which had claimed many “breakthroughs” and “leads”, is yet to zero in on the killers.
Upset with the snail-paced investigations, late Kalburgi's followers, intellectuals, writers and social activists launched an online campaign questioning the delay in probe. #UttaraKodi, #JawabDo and #AnswerUs hashtags were used on social media from August 9 till 30, and seminars on 'freedom of expression' and 'right to dissent', rallies and dharnas were held across Karnataka.
Interestingly, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah issued a statement two days prior to the death anniversary of the slain scholar, giving assurance of “fast-tracking” the investigation.
“I would like to assure the people of Karnataka that my government will make all efforts to bring the criminals to book. The Karnataka police has been given instructions to increase cooperation with the investigating team in Maharashtra and examine all inputs closely. I would like to assure the people of Karnataka that our investigating team is close to solving the crime, and appropriate action shall follow soon. I am determined to put the investigation on fast track,” the chief minister's statement said.
“Considering the importance of our pluralistic cultural traditions, our government is firmly committed to root out any attempt of spreading intolerance in the state and all fanatic fringes spreading fear among the community of writers and intellectuals,” the statement added.
Kalburgi (77) was shot dead on August 30, 2015 when a masked man walked up to his house and sprayed bullets at the professor's forehead and chest. The former vice chancellor of Kannada University collapsed in a pool of blood as the culprit fled with his accomplice who was waiting on a bike. Kalburgi's family rushed him to hospital, but it was too late.
The CID which is investigating the case had claimed that Kalburgi’s case had striking similarities with the killings of Narendra Dabholkar (65) and Govind Pansare (84). In August 2013, Dabholkar, an anti-superstition activist and founder of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (which was instrumental in bringing an anti-superstition bill in Maharashtra) was shot dead by unidentified assailants, when he was on his morning walk on Omkareshwar bridge in Pune. Pansare, a social activist and veteran Communist, was shot dead in Kolhapur in February 2015.
It now seems that the CID has hit a dead-end in Kalburgi's murder probe. After the initial revelation that the weapon used in the murder was "the same one" used in the murder of Pansare and Dabholkar and that they had found forensic evidence linking the three murders, the CID and the government are both silent on the issue.
The CID has also ruled out personal enmity and property dispute as motives for the crime. The preliminary probe, the CID claimed, had hinted that the killing was for ideological reasons. The murder that had shocked the nation, had also led a number of writers to return their awards in protest against the "growing intolerance to dissent". They also demanded speedy justice and implementation of the long-pending anti-superstition bill, as a tribute to the rationalist writer, who had received threats from the orthodox Lingayat community for his alleged ridicule of idol worship and superstition.
Kalburgi has authored 103 books (including the popular Marga series) and more than 400 articles and was honoured with state and central Sahithya Akademi awards, Pampa Award, Janapada Award, Nrupathunga Award and Basava Puraskar among others. However, his frequent face-offs with the conservatives in the community including religious mutts, his claims that Lingayats were not Veerashaivas (and not even Hindus), and his suggestion for rota system for Pancha Peethas (the heads of five major Lingayat mutts) to prevent the heads from becoming power centres, were not taken lightly by the community.
Though the leftists believe that all three killings were carried out by communal forces, there is little evidence to establish such claims. With the CID probe leading to nowhere, Kalburgi's supporters have been demanding for a CBI inquiry.
