R B Jagadish

Daijiworld Media Network - Karkala (SP)

Karkala, Feb 1: Naxal leader, Neelguli Padmanabh, who has been named as an accused in the case of murdering teacher from Hebri Seetanadi, Bhoja Shetty, was remanded to Corps of Detectives custody by the court here on Tuesday, January 31 for interrogation.

A gang of naxals had fired at and killeld Bhoja Shetty a day before the assembly election of 2008. The naxals had been nursing a grudge against Shetty, as they strongly believed that Shetty, who openly critized naxals, worked as police informer.

Naxals, Neelguli Padmanabh, Rizwan Begum, Raju and Bharati, had surrendered in the presence of Chikkamagaluru district superintendent of police, K Annamalai, on November 15, 2016. These activists were associated with naxal movement since the last several decades. They expressed their desire to change their radical way of thinking and join the mainstream. At the time of their surrender, member of high powered committee of the state government, A K Subbaiah, journalist, Gouri Lankesh, and advocate, K P Sripal, were present.

Neelguli Padmnabh had suffered serous injury during the raid by anti naxal force at Barkana in Chikkamagaluru district in the past. He had escaped after getting hurt and had luckily survived. He is facing several cases that were filed in Sringeri, Hebri and some other police stations.