JOIN US The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday took up a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) on the murder of Lingaraju, a whistle-blower and an RTI activist hacked to death by unidentified persons on Tuesday.
The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice B V Nagarathna considered the media reports on the murder as a complaint and took up a PIL, appointing senior counsel Hashmath Pasha as amicus curiae. Lingaraju, 40, a former employee of Canara Bank, had launched a Kannada tabloid “Maha Prachanda,” but closed it some years ago to become a full-time RTI activist. Recently, he had filed a private complaint in the Lokayukta Court against Govindaraju, husband of Azadnagar corporator Gowramma.
On November 9, the Lokayukta raided the residence of Gowramma and Govindaraju and unearthed property worth more than Rs 16 crore. Lingaraju is said to have provided crucial documents during preliminary investigation which led to raids, police said.
The police have formed five special teams to probe the murder. Sources said it could be a ‘supari’ killing by rowdy elements. An official told Deccan Herald that four men were detained on Tuesday and based on their information, a special team left for Tamil Nadu.