Members of some Jain organisations staged a protest in front of Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi on Sunday, to condemn the murder of Sri Acharya Kamakumara Nandi, Jain monk of the Hirekodi Ashram.
The monk went missing on Thursday last. And, the dismembered body was found on Saturday.
The police suspected that an old acquaintance, who had taken a loan from the monk, could have killed him, with the help of an accomplice.
Sri Siddhasena Muni and others walked from Halaga village to the Suvarna Soudha to demand justice in the case. The monk said that this protest was not against any party or government but was to condemn the heinous act. He demanded police security for Jain monks, their ashrams and places of pilgrimage.
Abhay Patil, MLA and Jain community leader, said that the district police are trying to claim that a financial dispute was the reason for the murder. This can imply that the monk was engaged in lending money on interest. But this is a baseless allegation. This is an insult to the Jain community.
The seer was involved only in religious activities and not in financial dealings. He was above all such worldly affairs. It seems that the police are under pressure to mislead the public, he said. “We do not have any faith in the State Police. We want the CBI to investigate the matter,” he added.
Another leader Sanjay Patil said that the police are trying to confuse the public. They are interchanging the names of the accused persons and their order in the investigation documents. “We are suspicious that the police are trying to protect members of one particular community. This is highly condemnable,” he said. He demanded that the inquiry should be efficient and transparent and the offenders be given capital punishment.
Raviraj Patil, advocate, and other leaders spoke.
The final rites of the monk were held at the ashram’s agriculture farm in Hirekodi village on Sunday.
Sri Jinasena Bhattaraka Swami of Nandani, Sri Lakshmisena Bhattaraka Swami of Kolhapur, Sri Dharmasena Bhattaraka Swami of Varur, MLAs Laxman Savadi and Ganesh Hukkeri, BJP district president Rajesh Nerli, community leaders Uttam Patil, Veena Pattankudi, Satish Appaji and others were present.
A large number of police personnel were deployed on duty.
The 56-year-old seer was born as Bharamappa Bheemappa Ugar. His family hailed from Khavatakoppa near Athani. He had 10 siblings.
He took the vow of celibacy and became a Digambar Jain monk after completing his engineering degree. He set up the Nandi Ashram and the Acharya Kamakumara Nandi Charitable Trust in Hirekodi village near Chikkodi. The trust runs a primary school. The seer was living in the ashram for over 15 years.
One of the accused was a close acquaintance of the seer. The seer had given him a hand loan and had asked him to repay it on time. But the accused decided to kill him instead, the police said.
