Tumakuru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday clarified that the state government will not interfere in the Kannada tabloid ‘Hai Bangalore’ editor Ravi Belagere arrest case.
Speaking to reporters here on December 10 at Madhugiri Rajiv Gandhi stadium after participating in mass marriage ceremony organized by Taluk Congress, the CM responded to the allegations made by BJP leader Jagadish Shettar that the state government was involved in the Belagere case and sad that the state government had nothing do with the case. “Shettar has no other work than making false allegations,” the CM retorted.
The CCB police have intensified the investigation into the “supari” case involving Kannada tabloid “Hai Bangalore” editor Ravi Belagere. On December 9, sleuths carried out search operation at the farm house of Belagere in Joida in Uttar Kannada.
It may be recalled that on December 8, Ravi Belagere was arrested by the CCB police for allegedly hiring a gunman to murder his former employee. The matter was revealed by Tahir Hussain, a gun runner who was picked up on December 4. Tahir had mentioned about Shashidhar Mundewadi, another sharpshooter who takes “supari” (contract) for murder.
During the interrogation, the two admitted to have taken “supari” from Belagere to kill his former colleague Sunil Heggaravalli three months ago. Based on their testimony, Belagere was arrested. Heggaravalli, whom the killers couldn’t manage to shoot, earlier worked with Belagere in the same tabloid. Belagere had reportedly given Mundewadi a gun with four bullets and a long knife to “eliminate” his former colleague whom he called a “betrayer.”
