3 held for killing RTI activist over exposing MGNREGS scam

Police have arrested a couple and their son for the murder of a farmer-cum-RTI activist in Ramanagara district.

Murthy R, a resident of Kuruballidoddi village near Kanakapura, was found bludgeoned to death on Friday evening. The suspects are related to him.

Police said Srinivas, 50, his wife Savithamma, 45, and their son Chandan alias Kariya, 22, chased Murthy from Hunasimaradadoddi, where he was grazing sheep, caught him near Kuruballidoddi village and assaulted him. They smashed his head with a stone, killing him on the spot.

The suspects and Murthy had fought over a few issues, including his ragi farm in the village. Srinivas’s family harvested ragi on their agricultural land. They took tractors through Murthy’s ragi farm without his permission and damaged the crops.

Murthy confronted them around 2.30 pm on Friday. They threatened to kill him. Murthy went home and told his mother Shanthamma about the incident. She asked him to take the sheep for grazing and said that she would complain to the village elders abouit the incident.

The suspects learnt that Murthy had taken sheep for grazing. The trio, along with Cheetah alias Mala, tractor driver Kiran, their supporter and Gram Panchayat member Gopal, Venkatesh, Thimmesh, Pratap, Guruprasad and others, went to Murthy and allegedly killed him.

Shanthamma alleged that the accused persons had disputes with them after the gram panchayat election and since then, they were provoking her family.

They used the clash between Srinivas’s family and her family as an excuse to kill him. Zilla Panchayat member Shankar allegedly threatened Murthy a few times over political differences.

Murthy collected details of the civil works carried out under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the village and filed a complaint with Ramanagara Zilla Panchayat, alleging irregularities. ZP officials had visited the village a few months ago to verify Murthy's allegations.

Chandan had fought with Murthy over the complaint. The two filed a complaint and counter-complaint about it, but later reached a compromise.

Police are verifying if Murthy was killed over the complaint of MNREGS works. Shanthamma named 10 people in her complaint.