Jain pontiff murder: 'Will ensure such incidents do not repeat', says Karnataka Minister

After the murder of Sri Acharya Kamakumara Nandi, a Jain monk, Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara on Monday, July 10 said that the government will ensure that no such incidents happen again in the state. The opposition BJP has decided to protest, stating that it is not satisfied with the probe.

Speaking to reporters at Hubballi, Parameshwara stated, "No one will bring politics in connection with the case. The police are taking action against the accused and they have already been arrested. I congratulate the officers. The law will take its own course, there is no question of any kind of bias in this matter. The accused had cut the dead body of the pontiff and dumped it into a borewell."

Regarding the Jain pontiffs who are protesting at Varur over the incident, he said, "I will speak to them. There is no need for handing over the case to the CBI. The probe is progressing and the accused have been arrested."

"Legal action will be taken. The real facts will come out once the probe is completed. False allegations should not be made. The state BJP is not able to name the leader of the opposition, there is fighting. The people of the state are observing how the party is behaving," Minister Parameshwara added.

Meanwhile, former CM Basavaraj Bommai has said that the BJP will protest during the Assembly session over the pontiff's murder case. He said he had spoken to Sri Gunadhara Nandi Maharaj of Varur near Hubballi over the phone. Nandi Maharaj had begun a fast until death demanding handing over of the case to the CBI.

State BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel said that the case can't be taken lightly by the society. BJP leaders, including Union Minister for Mine, Coal and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi, had alleged that the Congress government was practicing politics of appeasement. He had also stated that the demand for the handing over of the case to CBI will be brought to the notice of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Acharya Shree 108th Kamakumara Nandi from Chikkodi went missing on Thursday from the Jain Basadi at Nandi Parvat in Horekodi. The accused persons had cut his body into pieces and dumped them in an open borewell. Preliminary investigation revealed that the pontiff was hacked to death in the premises of the ashram and later the body parts were disposed of. One of the devotees close to the pontiff had killed him, police said.

The accused, who hails from Khatakabhavi village, had good rapport with the pontiff. After winning the pontiff's confidence, he had taken lakhs of rupees from him as loan. When the pontiff asked to repay the loan, the accused hacked him to death. The main accused had taken the help of a man from Chikkodi to carry out the murder. A search operation is currently underway to recover all the body parts.

After the pontiff was reported missing, the management told the police that property documents related to the Jain Basadi were also missing. The inmates of the ashram last saw the pontiff at about 10 pm on July 5. The pontiff had been residing at the Jain Basadi for the last 15 years. A missing case was lodged with the Chikkodi police station by Bheemappa Ugare, the president of the Acharya Kamakumaranandi Charitable Trust.

The police have arrested two persons and are grilling them. During the course of investigation, they confessed to killing the pontiff but gave contradictory statements regarding the disposal of the body. The accused had confessed that he had committed the murder after being asked to repay his loan.

Sri Rama Sena founder Pramod Muthalik has stated that he does not agree with the theory of the police that the Jain pontiff was murdered over a loan issue. "There is a conspiracy behind this incident. The mentality of cutting the body into pieces must be effectively dealt with by the government. Politics of appeasement is resulting in such heinous crimes," he said.