Mangaluru: In a major twist to the sensational Karthik Raj murder case, the police has nabbed Karthik’s sister and two others involved in the crime. It is now said that family dispute led to the coldblooded murder, which was initially perceived as a political killing.
Addressing a news conference, Police Commissioner Chandrashekar said that the special team of Mangaluru City Police headed by ACP Valentine D’Souza arrested Karthik’s sister Kavyashree(25), Gautham (26) and his brother Gaurav (19).
Over changing family dynamics, Kavya had lured Gautham, who already had a strained relationship with Karthik to kill him. It is said that Kavya had promised a sum of Rs five lac to Gautham for executing the crime, following which Gautham, along with his younger brother Gaurav bludgeoned Karthik to death on October 22, 2016 near Ganesh Mahal in Konaje when the target was out for a morning walk.
Gautham, a clerk by profession was in immediate need of money to build his house and the offer to kill Karthik came on time. Speaking about the case, the Commissioner said that it was a hard nut to crack as there were no clues left behind to work on.
Valentine D’ Souza, ACP Shruthi, Circle Inspector Ashok, Staffs Sunil Kumar, Damodar, Riji, Sudir Shetty, Manoj Kumar, and Mohammed Iqbal took part in the investigation and the team will be receiving cash reward soon.
DCPs Shantharaju and Sanjeev Patil were present.
Karthik, a mechanical engineer by profession had battled for life for two days after the attack and had then succumbed to injuries.
When police failed to nab the culprits, the BJP workers had taken up the issue and had staged a stir outside Konaje police station stating that some miscreants had made Karthik to death because of his BJP connection. Following this, special teams were formed to probe into the case. Karthik’s father Umesh Ganiga is the former vice-president of Mangaluru Taluk Panchayat and his death was seen as a political killing.
