Almost a month after Sundara Malekudiya, a tribal farm worker, was attacked by Gopalakrishna Gowda, a landlord who wanted to clear the jungle near Kataje village where the farmer had a land, the district police caught Gowda at a lodge at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh. Police also nabbed Gowda's driver, Vasantha Gowda from Hassan district on Saturday.
A report in The New Indian Express quoted superintendent of Police S D Sharanappa as saying, "The landlord had been shifting locations to avoid arrest. Sathish (Sulia circle Inspector) with his team got information that Gowda was in Bengaluru.
When the search team went to Bengaluru, they learnt that the accused shifted to Puttaparthi a few days ago." After the arrest, Gowda revealed the whereabouts of the driver Vasanth. The police arrested Vasanth in a resort owned by Dinesh Karle of Goruru in Hassan district.
According to The Hindu report, on July 26, Malekudiya's fingers were allegedly chopped off by Gopalakrishna Gowda.
Pushpalatha, Gowda's wife and Damayanti, Gowda's sister reportedly sprinkled chilli powder in the victim's wounds and eyes and assaulted him. The police arrested Pushpalatha the very next day after the incident who was remanded judicial custody.