22 months after Bellary dy mayor killed,CID probes links with a Reddy

With local Bellary police officials at the time citing difficulties in conducting an impartial probe into the case,the matter was referred to the Criminal Investigation Department of the Karnataka police and has remained with it since,without any arrests being made.

The situation,however,has now changed — with the Reddy brothers and the BJP having had a falling-out in the state. Recently,a candidate backed by the Reddys dealt the party a humiliating defeat in the Bellary assembly bypoll.

According to CID sources,the relationship between Yadav and Somashekhar Reddy had led to major problems in the MLA’s household and was objected to by family members,resulting in the deputy mayor being asked to stay away from him. However,they reportedly continued their relationship.

The CID’s investigations have so far revealed that Yadav’s murder was a contract killing carried out by what are commonly known in the Bellary-Andhra Pradesh region as “pseudo-Naxalite gangs” involved in extortion,kidnapping and hired killings in the garb of Maoism. Officials believe a woman ‘Naxalite’ from Alur in Andhra Pradesh is the key suspect — though a search for evidence on who handed out the supari for the murder is still on,sources in the CID said.

Confirming that they were looking into the angle of Yadav’s links with a MLA,CID superintendent of police K P Bheemaiah,who is supervising the investigations,said: “One of the angles being investigated is the affair the victim was allegedly having with a local MLA. The case has not reached a conclusive stage yet. There are general findings but no witnesses have so far been willing to come forward to give statements.”

The CID has announced a reward for anyone providing information. Investigators returned to Bellary recently to probe the matter further.

“We have explored various possible motives for the murder,including Yadav’s land and property dealings and possible political rivalry,but have not found anything. The one motive that remains is her affair with an MLA and the resultant complications,” a CID source said.