New officer to resume co-op society audit

A new auditor has been appointed by the Department of Co-operative Societies to complete the examination of accounts at the Sahakar Nagar Co-operative Society.

Arunakumari, the Deputy Director in charge of Bangalore Rural, is to finish the audit, following the murder of her predecessor, S P Mahantesh.

The Department of Co-operative Societies has sought protection for Arunakumari in the light of Mahantesh’s murder.

A senior police official told Deccan Herald that his department would provide protection to the officer. He said the police department was keen on unearthing details of the scam, especially if senior officers or politicians were involved.

“The department will pursue the leads, if incriminating evidence is found during the audit,” he said. A special team of the Central Crime Branch is reported to be conducting an independent inquiry into the matter.

Officially, the Mahantesh murder case has been solved and the perpetrators have been arrested, but doubts persist.

Meanwhile, the police are on the lookout for the fifth suspect in the murder. Kiran Kumar and the three killers he had hired - Ayyappa, Shivakumar and Murali (all residents of Vyalikaval) - have already been arrested.

The fifth suspect was reportedly inside the Tata Indica car in which the gang came to the spot where Mahantesh was attacked.

An investigating team has been dispatched to a neighbouring state to trace him. Another team is looking for him on the outskirts of Bangalore. Police believe that he is from Vyalikaval.