JOIN USCBI opposes murder-accused ex-minister Vinay Kulkarni's bail plea in SC
The CBI has opposed before the Supreme Court a plea made by former Karnataka Minister and state Congress leader Vinay Kulkarni for bail in a case related to the murder of a BJP worker in 2016 in Dharwad.
The agency claimed that he is an influential person and could intimidate witnesses. He had already forced the victim's wife to turn hostile.
"There is no ground for the petitioner for release from jail as he would intimidate the witnesses, tamper with the evidence and jeopardise the trial," the agency said in an affidavit filed in the top court.
It said the High Court has rightly rejected the bail of Kulkarni and there can't be any parity of him with the co-accused.
"In fact, wife and brother of the deceased turning hostile is another evidence which corroborates the role and influence of the petitioner. The wife of the deceased was made to turn hostile by paying money in lakhs and assisting her in getting a post or position in local administration of the Congress party," the CBI alleged.
Further, the petitioner also attempted to influence the brother of the deceased by arranging a meeting with a close acquaintance of his, it claimed.
"The petitioner was arraigned as accused because of his active participation in the conspiracy which led to murder of the deceased," it said.
A bench led by Justice U U Lalit is to take up the matter on Monday.
Yogeshgouda Goudar, 26, a member of district Panchayat, was hacked to death on June 15, 2016 at his gym in Saptapur in Dharwad after immobilising him by throwing chilli powder on his face.
The victim's family members suspected the role of former Minister and Congress leader Kulkarni in the murder.
The B S Yeddyurappa government, within a couple of months of assuming charge, ordered a CBI probe on September 6, 2019.
The top court had earlier on February 21, 2020, stayed the Karnataka High Court's order of November 21, 2019 that suspended the probe by the central agency into the matter.