Daijiworld Media Network - Dharwad (SP)
Dharwad, Jun 17: The fact that an anonymous letter had warned BJP zilla panchayat member from the district, Yogeesh Gowda, who was killed on Wednesday June 15, about his possible murder in advance has lent a new twist to the murder investigation.
It is learnt that Yogeesh Gowda had received an anonymous letter at his Govanakoppa house a week back. The letter had warned that a minister was waiting for an opportune time to get him killed. The family of Gowda has given this letter to the police to help them in the investigation.
The letter written in Kannada reminds Yogeesh that his elder brother, Uday Gowda, was got murdered by two ministers. "Now, another minister is waiting to get you eliminated. Please do not try to find out who I am. I will provide to you further information on this issue through letters in course of time. At the same time, I need a help from you. I will come to you when this is required," the letter says, duly providing the name of the accused ministers. This has created problems for the policemen.
There is also a theory doing rounds that the anonymous letter would have been written by the killers themselves. The contents of the letter make it clear that the writer knows the family of Yogeesh Gowda well. Therefore, chances of the killers writing the letter in advance to mislead the investigators cannot be ruled out, it is felt.
Four teams headed by deputy commissioner of police, Mallikarjun Baladandi, assistant commissioner of police, Vasudeva Chalavadi, and Channakeshava Tingarikar have been formed. Although these teams have taken up investigation and questioned a few people, they are yet to get any clinching clue. Cellphone calls from the area and CCTV footage are also being verified for hints if any.
The killers had used sickle, knives, and daggers for murdering Yogeesh Gowda. Body of Gowda bore 33 injury marks including six that were fatal. A seven-inch knife was inserted into his stomach. When Yogeesh tried to retaliate, his right hand was hit by a sickle, causing four of his fingers to be sliced away, as per postmortem, it is learnt.
The police have got help from four young boys who were present at the spot in drawing sketches of the killers.