Mysuru, Nov 8 (IANS): Karnataka police have cracked the murder case of an 82-year-old retired Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer in Mysuru with the arrest of two persons. The police said the murder took place over a property dispute.

Mysuru City Police Commissioner Chandragupta said on Tuesday that the arrested persons have been identified as Manu (30) and his friend Arun Gowda. Manu was into construction business.

Former IB officer R.K. Kulakarni died after being hit by a car while walking inside the Mysore University campus on November 4. Initially, the police had registered a hit and run case.

But after scanning footage from CCTV cameras installed nearby, it was found that Arun Gowda had shown the spot where Kulkarni used to take a stroll in the evening on the Mysuru University campus to Manu. The footage also clearly showed the former IB officer being mowed down by a car.

When Manu was interrogated, he confessed to committing the crime.

Manu was a neighbour of the deceased, and his family had a property dispute with the retired IB officer.

According to Chandragupta, Manu's father Madappa had constructed a building next to Kulkarni's house in Sharadadevi Nagar. Kulkarni had objected to this citing violation of the bylaws of Mysore City Corporation (MCC) as Madappa allegedly built the house without leaving enough space. Kulkarni's family had also filed a complaint against Madappa.

These developments had enraged Manu, who then hatched a plan to kill Kulkarni, the police said. As per the police, Manu carried out the murder without the knowledge of his father.

After Kulkarni's death, his family members had suspected the role of the neighbours who had a dispute with the victim.

The police had formed three special teams to probe the murder.

Kulakarni, who hailed from Savanur in Haveri district, had joined the Intelligence Bureau in 1963. He had served in different positions for three-and-a-half decades before retiring in 1999.