Jain monk murder case: Details of brutality emerge

Belagavi: Horrific details are emerging from the investigation of Jain monk Acharya Shree 108th Kamakumara Nandi Maharaja murder case.

Police sources have said that the accused persons unleashed horror on the monk who ate food only once on that fateful day in the morning. Both the accused had first attempted to electrocute the monk and later, they strangulated him to death with a towel. His body was cut into pieces for disposal, police sources stated.

The FIR said that Kusuma, the devotee, who cooked food for the monk, observed that he was not there in his room on July 6. The suspicion grew more when they found divine tools called pinchi, kamandala, which the monk carried with him all the time, were in the room. The trustees later found the monk’s mobiles and the door of the treasury open. The missing complaint was lodged on July 8 at noon, when they could not find him. Within four hours of starting the probe, the Chikodi police zeroed in on the accused persons and grilled them.

The accused, Narayan Maali and Hassan a.k.a Hassan Dalayat, confessed to the murder of the Jain monk. The accused, who gained entry into the monk’s room, had first tried to electrocute him. After finding the monk still alive, the accused strangulated him to death with a towel. Both the accused had put all their effort in this horrific act.

After killing him, the accused packed the body in a gunny bag and took it away on a bike. They travelled for about 35 kms on the bike with the body. After reaching Khatakabhavi, the killers cut the body into pieces and disposed of it into an open borewell. They burnt their blood soaked clothes as well. The accused had also burnt a diary that belonged to the pontiff.

Maali from Khatakabhavi village had a good rapport with the monk. After winning his confidence he took lakhs of rupees from the monk as loan. When he was asked to repay the loan by the pontiff, Maali hatched a plan with the help of his friend, Hassan Dalayat, a lorry driver, to finish off the monk. The issue has taken a political turn with the BJP and Hindu activists alleging that the ruling Congress government is protecting the accused and hushing up the case. Hindu activists have suspected it to be an act of terrorism and demanded a CBI probe.