Family kept up four-year-long court battle to bring Vinay Kulkarni to book

HUBBALLI: It was a sustained court battle by the family of BJP leader Yogishgouda Goudar, barring his wife Mallamma, that put Congress leader Vinay Kulkarni in the dock. The CBI arrested Kulkarni on Thursday. It’s been alleged that political intervention had put the case on ice. While no direct conclusion could be drawn on Kulkarni’s role in Goudar’s killing in 2016, the latter’s family kept its battle going against the Congress leader, then a minister in the Siddaramaiah government, and Dharwad district minister.

The family had sought a CBI probe, but the chief minister had himself denied its necessity. Though police arrested at least six people in a week after the killing, the family went in appeal in court, alleging that Kulkarni was involved, but their attempts failed. BJP leaders alleged that the Congress government had stood solidly behind Kulkarni.

It was when an audio recording of Kulkarni’s alleged conversation, laced with threats, went public, that Goudar’s family, mainly his brother Gurunathagouda, again appealed to court, charging Kulkarni and two top police officials with destroying evidence and intimidating witnesses. 

Despite the Dharwad court order, city police were hesitant to file a case against Kulkarni. Finally, on the direction of the Dharwad bench of the High Court, police filed a case in April 2019. In March 2019, the High Court had rejected Gurunathagouda and his mother Tungamma’s plea seeking a CBI probe, stating there were no grounds. 

Kulkarni lost the 2018 Assembly poll and 2019 general election, with the BJP projecting Yogishgouda’s murder as a political killing, and promising a CBI probe. The CBI took over investigation on the recommendation of the Yediyurappa government in September 2019. Meanwhile, the BJP government filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court, against the High Court order on a CBI probe. The apex court stayed the HC order, and allowed investigation by the central agency.

Once the CBI took charge, mysteries started unravelling, with the arrest of eight people from a remote place in Tamil Nadu, for allegedly planning and executing the crime. The agency also questioned top police officials in charge of the city then, and Kulkarni’s close associates, including his brother Vijay Kulkarni. 

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Recently, speculation was rife over Kulkarni joining the saffron party to evade CBI probe. He reportedly sought out a top BJP leader and Lingayat Mutt seers to influence the central BJP leadership, but it did not materialise.