One more held in village accountant death case

The Manvi police on Monday arrested one more person in connection with the suspicious death of a village accountant at Chikalparvi.

Police gave away the name of the arrested Pradeep, a staff at Chikalparvi sand collection centre.

Village accountant Saheb Patel was allegedly run over by a sand-laden lorry near Buranapura in Manvi taluk on Saturday when the officer tried to prevent illegal transportation of sand. Gavigatt village accountant Irfan Ali had lodged a complaint alleging that the sand mafia had killed Patel.

The police on Sunday arrested the driver of the sand lorry Rangappa and booked him under IPC section 302.

The incident had triggered an outrage in the state. The association of village accountants and several people’s organisations have staged protests across the state, demanding stern action against the culprits.

The protestors said Veerabhadrappa Aldal, Ningappa Karadigudda and others, were involved in sand mining and they were responsible for the officer’s death.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, speaking to reporters in Koppal, said that those involved in the heinous act would be brought to book.

“The lorry driver and the owner have been arrested in the village accountant death case in Raichur. We will not spare anyone, howsoever big or influential he is,” the chief minister said.