Mallamma’s stand baffles family members

DHARWAD: Family members of slain BJP worker Yogishgouda Goundar are completely baffled by the sudden disappearance of his widow Mallamma and filing of a complaint against them with the State Women’s Commission.

They squarely accuse Congress leader and District Minister Vinay Kulkarni of abusing power. In fact, her refusal to blame Kulkarni for the murder of her husband has also left them perplexed.

On Friday, rumours were abuzz about the “abduction” of Mallamma by Congress workers who denied their hand in her disappearance. She surfaced at Bengaluru on Saturday morning where she accused her family members of harassing her and exploiting the murder case for their gain.

Gurunath Gouda, brother of Yogish, alleged that the developments have taken place after they started putting pressure on the government to had over the investigation to CBI to unearth the real force behind the killing. Mallamma might have been misguided by Congress workers who are exerting pressure on her to join the party to scuttle the probe and save their leader, he said.

“The entire family stood by her in her fight for justice for her husband. But the sudden change in her stand has confused us a lot. It seems the pressure tactics applied by Congress leaders might have worked. But the truth would come out”, he said.

Devendrappa, father of Mallamma, said that after the death of her husband, she turned “insane”. “Otherwise, why would she run away from home and register a complaint against Gurunath Gouda and other BJP leaders?” he said.