Hubballi: Intellectuals who converged on Dharwad for a convention to mark the first death anniversary of rationalist, Dr M.M. Kalburgi, gave the state government two weeks to make a statement about its commitment to see the probe into his murder through to the very end.
They demanded that it inform Dr Kalburgi’s family about the exact status of the investigation and resolved to intensify their campaign for justice if there was no progress.
Families of slain rationalists, Dr Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare of Maharashtra, who were present at the rally, deplored the lack of progress in the investigation into their murders as well.
Alleging that the killers were associated with fundamental groups, they said such elements posed a serious threat to freedom of speech. Lashing out at the Congress and BJP, Ms Mukta Dabholkar, daughter of Dr Narendra Dabholkar, said neither party cared about the killing of intellectuals.
Pointing out that the special investigation team made some progress in the investigation of her father’s murder after the Maharashtra High Court took it to task, she suggested that the Karnataka High Court should be similarly asked to intervene.
