Koppal: Six Get Death Penalty in BJP Youth Leader Murder Case
1 May 2026 12:00 AM IST1 May 2026 12:00 AM IST
Venkatesh was the former president of the BJP Yuva Morcha of Gangavathi Mandal.The murder took place on October 8, 2025, within the limits of the Gangavathi Town Police Station.
Death Penalty. (Representational Image)
Koppal: A court in Gangavathi on Thursday awarded death penalty to six persons convicted in the murder of a BJP leader in Koppal district last year.The I Additional District and Sessions Court, Gangavathi, had on April 23 convicted six of the 12 accused in the murder of Venkatesh Kurubar, while acquitting the remaining six. The quantum of the sentence was pronounced on April 30.
Venkatesh was the former president of the BJP Yuva Morcha of Gangavathi Mandal.The murder took place on October 8, 2025, within the limits of the Gangavathi Town Police Station. The accused, allegedly driven by previous enmity, followed Venkatesh and his associates, who were travelling on a scooter and a motorcycle, from Devi Nagar on Kampli Road. Near Leelavathi Hospital on the Koppal–Raichur road, they rammed his scooter using a car, causing him to fall, and then attacked him with sharp weapons, leading to his death.Based on a complaint lodged by the victim’s father, Hampanna, a case was registered and a special investigation team was formed considering the seriousness of the crime.On the day of the incident, four accused — Vijay alias Mailari, Dhanraj, Bharat alias Bhima, and Salim — along with others, surrendered before the Kampli Police Station in Ballari district. In total, eight accused were arrested and remanded to judicial custody.Subsequently, the key absconding accused, Ravi and Gangadhar Gowli, were traced by the special team. Acting on specific information, police apprehended them on October 26, 2025, from a makeshift shelter in Bapooji Nagar on Anantapur Road in Ballari. They were brought in, interrogated, arrested, and remanded to judicial custody.During the course of investigation, officers, with the assistance of forensic experts, seized a total of 42 material objects relevant to the case. Statements of five eyewitnesses were recorded, and they were produced before the court under Section 183 of the BNSS. In all, statements from 73 witnesses were collected. A comprehensive charge sheet running into 551 pages was filed against 12 accused before the Principal Civil Judge and JMFC Court in Gangavathi on December 29, 2025.The trial was completed within three months of filing the charge sheet. On April 23, 2026, the I Additional District and Sessions Court, Gangavathi acquitted six of the accused and convicted the remaining six.On April 30, 2026, the court pronounced the sentence, awarding the death penalty to all six convicted persons- Ravi, Vijay alias Mailari, Dhanraj, Bharat alias Bhima, Salim and Gangadhar.Superintendent of Police Dr Ram L Arasiddi commended all officers and staff involved for their coordinated efforts in swiftly solving the case, filing a strong charge sheet within 90 days, ensuring timely production of witnesses, and securing a conviction and death sentence within six months of the incident.
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