BENGALURU: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday filed a chargesheet against eight accused in
BJP leader Yogish Gowda murder
before a Dharwad court. Gowda was a member of the
Dharwad Zilla Panchayath
in
Karnataka.
The chargesheet filed before the JMFC Court, Dharwad, against Santosh Savadatti, Dinesh M, Sunil KS, Harshith, Aswath S,
Nazeer Ahamad
,
Shanawaz
and Nutan K and one more.
Gowda was killed on June 15, 2016, in front of a gym in Sapthapura in Dharwad.
"The accused allegedly came to Dharwad on two occasions in June 2016 and with the support of the other accused, allegedly planned the murder of Yogish Gowda. These accused fled after the commission of the crime," CBI spokesperson RK Gaur said.
The agency has alleged that the killing had "
political reasons
" behind it and was a result of political rivalry, the officials said.
The agency had taken over the case on September 24, 2019, nearly three years after the murder, on the request of the BJP government in Karnataka and a referral from the Centre.
The case was earlier probed by the Karnataka police which had charged six accused persons of Dharwad for allegedly planning and executing the killing.
The CBI has arrested eight accused in the case of which seven are in judicial custody, they said.
"Further investigation into the role of the other accused and larger conspiracy, in this case, is continuing on a day-to-day basis," Gaur said.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.