MM Kalburgi, who was shot dead at his residence in Dharwad. (File photo)
The Supreme Court Wednesday issued notices to the CBI, NIA and governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka, seeking their reply to a plea filed by noted Kannada writer M M Kalburgi’s wife who sought a SIT probe into his murder.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud took note of the petition filed by Uma Devi Kalburgi, wife of the slain author, and sought the response of the investigative agencies and the two states within six weeks.
Uma Devi claimed that the murders of her husband, leftist thinker Govind Pansare and rationalist Narendra Dabholkar were similar in pattern.
Earlier, investigations by the Karnataka Criminal Investigation Department revealed that countrymade pistol used to kill Kalburgi was the same one used to murder Pansare.
Kalburgi was shot dead at his home by two unidentified assailants. They pumped two bullets into the 77-year-old Sahitya Akademi Award winner when he answered the door.
The Indian Express first reported in September that the “mechanics of the crime” in the killing of journalist Gaur Lankesh is identical to Kalburgi’s murder.