The Belagavi Police have solved a murder case in four days that seemed complicated at first.
A team of officers from Aigali Police Station near Athani arrested two accused, including a teenager in conflict with law.
The accused were upset that the victim was teasing one of them for falling in love with a girl and was threatening to expose them, the police quoted them as saying. The accused and the victim were close acquaintances.
One of the accused, 19-year-old Sanket Bagi, has been produced before a court. The other who is in conflict with law has been sent to a children’s home.
The case was not easy to solve, however. Residents of Yankanchi village found a body floating in the nearby Karimasuti Irrigation Canal. It was difficult to recognise it, but the police obtained a few clues. The body had two tattoos. There was a tailor’s mark on the shirt. Based on the deep wounds on the body, investigators deduced that the victim had been hacked to death.
Local police used routine investigator methods like speaking to villagers and traced the victim. He was 21-year-old Vithal Tukaram Bannennanavar of Gugawad village in Maharashtra. He was working as a farm hand in Ugar Khurd village near Kagwad in Belagavi district.
The victim had a photo of Sanket Bagi with a girl and used to threaten him that he would expose his affair. This upset the accused who lured him to a secluded place and hacked him to death. Once they were sure he had died, they pushed the body into the canal.
Swift action and quality investigation led to this result, Superintendent of Police Sanjiv Patil told journalists.
Dr. Patil has announced a reward for Deputy Superintendent of Police Sripad Jalde, Circle Inspector Shankar Gowda, Sub-Inspector M.R. Pawar and staff from Aigali Police Station.
