SP Seema Latkar rules out any communal angle; initial investigation points at personal enmity

T. Narasipur: In a significant breakthrough, the Police have apprehended six individuals in connection to the murder of Venugopal Nayak, a member of the Yuva Brigade. The arrested individuals, identified as Manikanta alias Koole Mani, Sandesh, Anil Nayak alias Galli, Shankaregowda alias Thuppa, Manja and Harris, are all residents of T. Narasipur town.

Venugopal Nayak (32) was a resident of Srirampura Colony, T. Narasipur.

According to the ongoing investigation, personal enmity appears to be the motive behind the heinous crime. The chain of events leading to the murder allegedly started with a confrontation between two groups during the Hanuma Jayanti celebrations in the taluk on Saturday night. Subsequently, the group meticulously planned and executed the murder of Venugopal on Sunday night.

A Police officer said that prima facie, Nayak was murdered after there were issues of vehicle parking and also, he stopped someone from posting Kannada actor late Puneeth Rajkumar photo with the procession.

“There was a small fight between Nayak and the accused during the procession which was defused by people participating in the celebrations. After the event, Manikanta called Venugopal Nayak to meet so as to compromise on the matter and stabbed him to death,” the officer added.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Seema Latkar had formed two special teams to arrest the accused. There is a possibility of further arrests, suggesting the involvement of additional persons, the SP said.

She also ruled out any communal angle in the murder but was killed due to the fight that took place during the procession.

Dy.SP Govindaraju has been assigned the responsibility of overseeing the thorough investigation into the murder case. To gather crucial evidence, CCTV footage from the vicinity of the crime scene where Venugopal was murdered has been collected and is being carefully examined. The investigators are also actively seeking information regarding the potential involvement of others in the incident.