KCOCA invoked against 2 in Kaup land dispute case; 1 arrested

Mangaluru: Police invoked the Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act (KCOCA), 2000, against Kali Yogish and Yogish Acharya in connection with a series of violent incidents stemming from a long-running land dispute in Kaup taluk, police said.Udupi SP Hariram Shankar said that Section 3 of the KCOCA was applied after assessing the alleged involvement of the accused in multiple offences over an extended period. Yogish Acharya was arrested and remanded in judicial custody by a special KCOCA court in Mysuru, while Kali Yogish is absconding and is suspected to be abroad.The case history dates back to Dec 2022, when Kali Yogish, Yogish Acharya and their associates were booked by Kaup police for allegedly assaulting Chandrashekar and others following a land dispute. A case was registered at Kaup police station in this regard.The dispute escalated in March 2023 with the murder of Sharath Shetty. Police stated that Sharath Shetty was allegedly killed as he did not support Yogish Acharya and assisted Chandrashekar. A murder case was registered at Kaup police station, with Chandrashekar cited as a key witness in both the assault and murder cases.Police further said that on Oct 20 this year, Chandrashekar received a threat around 8.15 pm, warning him not to depose as a witness against Yogish Acharya and others. He was allegedly asked to settle a financial dispute with Yogish Acharya and was threatened with death if he failed to comply. Based on his complaint, a case was registered under Sections 351(2), 351(3) and 351(4) of the BNS.The investigation was supervised by ASP Karkala Subdivision Harsha Priyamvada.Yogish Acharya,54, a resident of Thaudabettu in Kote village of Kaup taluk, was arrested on Oct 24 and produced before a court in Udupi, where he secured bail with surety. Subsequently, police invoked the KCOCA, arrested him again, and produced him before the special KCOCA court in Mysuru, which remanded him in judicial custody, police said.

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