3 held in Buddhist monk’s murder

Dharwad: Dharwad Rural police have arrested three persons in connection with the kidnapping and murder of a Tibetan Buddhist monk, whose body was found near the Pune–Bengaluru National Highway bypass last week.The victim, Tashi Dhondup, 40, a resident of Camp-1 in Mundgod in Uttara Kannada district, was found dead near a bridge on Haliyal Road on April 29. Police said the body had multiple injuries, and the legs were tied, indicating foul play.Following a preliminary investigation, police traced the accused to Kolhapur district in Maharashtra and apprehended Sanket Sattappa Yadav, 24, Siddesh Sunil Bhosle, 18, and Vaibhav Maruti Chavan, 30, all residents of Bhudargad.During interrogation, the trio reportedly confessed to kidnapping Dhondup from Mundgod in an Ertiga car with the intention of extorting money. When their plan failed, they allegedly assaulted him to death and later dumped the body near an underpass on Haliyal Road before fleeing.SP Gunjan Arya said a search is on for two more accused. The arrested men were produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody.