Retired IB officer was murdered over land dispute with neighbour: Mysuru police

The victim had been engaged in a dispute with his neighbour for the past two years

In a swift operation, the Mysuru City police cracked a case of the murder of a retired officer of the Intelligence Bureau. Mysuru City Police Commissioner Dr Chandraguptha said that they had discovered that the reason for the murder was a property dispute with a neighbour.

R N Kulkarni (83), a resident of T K layout, was identified as the deceased retired officer. Police said that he was killed at 5.40 pm on November 4 in an intentional crash in a car without a license plate next to the computer science block of the Manasa Gangothri campus. The victim was rushed to the hospital but he did not survive.

Chandraguptha said that they had booked a case against Kulkarni’s neighbour Madappa and his family. They arrested Madappa's youngest son 30-year-old Manu, who is accused of driving the car and killing Kulkarni. Police also arrested Varun, a friend of Manu who allegedly assisted him in the conspiracy and murder.

Based on technical evidence from CCTV footage, the police traced and seized a Honda vehicle that was involved in the crash.

Chandraguptha said that the victim had been involved in a dispute with his neighbour Madappa for the past two years. Madappa had apparently failed to leave a three-foot setback area in the compound of his house but Kulkarni had done so, police said. So, Kulkarni had filed a case in this regard at Saraswathipuram police station and approached the Mysuru City Corporation, the City Civil Court as well as the High Court on the matter.

Chandraguptha said that Manu and his friends had observed Kulkarni's walking routes and times since last Wednesday. Manu, who has an MBA, works in the construction industry. Varun has an MCA. An unrelated case was registered against Manu in Mysuru Rural under Section 324 for a minor dispute near Bilikere of Hunsur Taluk.

Four special teams led by N R Division ACP Shivashankar, CCB ACP Ashwathnarayan C K and officers of the technical cell helped in cracking the case. As many as 50 people served on the team. Chandraguptha lauded the team's efforts and rewarded them with Rs. 50,000.

Jayalakshmipuram Police registered the case.