Kiran Parashar

A popular BJP leader in Karnataka’s Kodagu district, Balachandra Kalagi was the president of Sampaje village panchayat for three terms. He was on his way home in March 2019 when he was murdered.

The Telangana businessman was found dead in a coffee estate in Kodagu in Karnataka on October 8.

The verdict has brought a sense of justice to the Dalits in the village, but for residents from both sides, there is also an anxiety about the future.

A popular BJP leader in Karnataka's Kodagu district, Balachandra Kalagi was the president of Sampaje village panchayat for three terms. He was on his way home in March 2019 when he was murdered.

The incident took place in the Tumakuru district where the 19-year-old engineering student spent an entire night in waist-deep water.

Previously, cases of atrocities against SCs and STs were managed by the local police, who are already burdened with multiple responsibilities.

The village in Bagalkot was all decked up on May 17, 2019 as the temple fair was underway. The victim's family decided to pay a quick visit to the temple only to find her lying heavily injured when they returned.

Though the Karnataka government sanctioned Rs 5 crore to establish the memorial, Nijalingappa's family members say no progress has been made in the last four years.

The accused, employed at various hospitals across Bengaluru, allegedly targeted underprivileged patients at private hospitals and offered them ESIC cards for a nominal fee, the police said.

Police had almost given up on the man who had left Karnataka and started a new life in Kerala after killing his 23-year-old sister-in-law and her three-year-old son.