6 murders, 2 warring families: 12 arrested over Vijayapura land dispute killings in Karnataka
Days after 6 members of a family were murdered in Govindapur village, the police said that special teams traced the accused, including the alleged mastermind, near the Karnataka-Maharashtra border.
According to the police, the accused and the victims have been at loggerheads for more than two decades. (Image generated using AI) Days after six members of a family were allegedly hacked to death in a village in Karnataka’s Vijayapura district, the police said on Monday that 12 people have been arrested in the case and that the murders took place over a long-standing dispute between two families over 25 acres of land.
The incident took place in Govindapur village on May 29.
Laxman Nimbargi, Superintendent of Police, Vijayapura district, identified the accused as Kallanagouda Patil, 65, Mahasidda Biradar, 44, Mahesh Biradar, 22, Raju Ugar, 20, Yellappa Arakeri, 25, Layappa Biradar, 65, Subhash Biradar, 21, Raosaheb Biradar, 20, Gajananand Biradar, 20, Sanju Arakeri, 31, all natives of Govindapur, and Rajkumar Koli, 28, and Hanumanth Koli, 18, from Maharashtra.
According to the police, special teams launched an intensive search operation and traced the accused near the Karnataka-Maharashtra border. Among those arrested is the main accused, Kallanagouda Patil. Investigators said two of the victims were allegedly shot using a licensed double-barreled gun owned by Patil. The weapon has been recovered and seized as part of the investigation.
The victims were earlier identified as Dundappa Nirale, 65, Shivaputra Nirale, 58, Chandu Nirale, 55, Shabbir Attar, 45, Rahul Nirale, 25, and Samarth Nirale, 23. Five of the deceased belonged to the Nirale family of Chadchan.
According to the police, the Nirale and Golagi families have been at loggerheads for more than two decades. A few Nirale family members were arrested 10 years ago after they allegedly murdered a Golagi family member after he eloped with a woman from the Nirale family.
Some village heads had tried to solve the issues by holding discussions. On May 29, the Nirale family had attended one such meeting when they were allegedly attacked by the Golagi family. According to the police, at least 15-20 people were involved in the killings.
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