Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Apr 2: The police investigating the murder of Vinayak Pandurang Baliga (51) at Kodialbail here on March 21 are understood to have zeroed in on Yuva Brigade leader Naresh Shenoy as the prime suspect.
It may be recalled that the police led by ACP Tilakchandra had raided Shenoy's house at VT Road in connection to the case. As per sources, Shenoy has been missing ever since the murder took place and his mobile phone is switched off.
A report published in The Indian Express claims that the police have found that three persons close to Shenoy were involved in this murder.
Yuva Brigade was formed as 'Namo Brigade' by fans of Narendra Modi during the 2014 general elections, with Naresh Shenoy as one of its founders. After the elections, the organization was transformed into Yuva Brigade. Shenoy is also said to be involved with activities of Lord Venkataramana temple at Car Street here. It is said that Baliga, by filing complaints of irregularities and misappropriation of funds to the tune of eight crore rupees in the temple which he frequented every day, and seeking a thorough re-audit of accounts for the last several years, had reportedly earned the ire of Shenoy's close associates.
After the high court directed a subordinate court to examine the issue, temple authorities had expressed preparedness for fresh audit in the court, that was to commence soon.
The police have meanwhile issued lookout notices for two other suspects, Srikanth and Shiva alias Shivu. The report in The Indian Express states Srikanth, a former right-wing activist, was hired by Naresh Shenoy for managing hostels run by him. Srikanth had allegedly contacted Shivu for contract killing of Baliga, and Shivu had in turn hired people to execute the murder plan. At the same time, another person named Vignesh, also working for Shenoy, was present when the murder happened. Allegedly, Vignesh had helped the killers to flee in a Qualis driven by him.
However, as Baliga had also filed various complaints against irregularities committed by various agencies and builders, the police are not yet prepared to draw a conclusion on the motive behind the murder.