Four persons, including the son of the president of Gadag Betageri City Municipal Council, were murdered late on Thursday night.
The incident took place at the residence of Gadag Betageri CMC president Sunanda Bakale at Dasara Oni, near Chennamma Circle, in Gadag.
The dead have been identified as Kartik Bakale, son of Ms. Sunanda Bakale and their relatives — Parashuram Hadimani, 55, Lakshmi, 45, and Akanksha, 17, of Koppal.
Mr. Kartik Bakale was engaged in real estate business with his father, Prakash Bakale.
Mr. Hadimani, a resident of Koppal, was the brother of Mr. Prakash Bakale’s first wife.
Mr. Hadimani along with his wife Lakshmi and daughter Akanksha had come to participate in a family function at Laxmeshwar on April 17. As they missed the train to Koppal the next day, they decided to stay overnight at the residence of Mr. Prakash Bakale, the police said.
Mr. Hadimani, a hotelier in Koppal, had twice contested the municipal elections in Koppal unsuccessfully, while Ms. Lakshmi was a nominated member once.
According to sources, Mr. Hadimani and Mr. Kartik were asleep in the bedroom on the first floor, while Ms. Lakshmi and Akanksha were sleeping in the room on the ground floor.
Mr. Prakash Bakale and Ms. Sunanda Bakale were in another room on the ground floor.
The assailants allegedly entered the house through a window and killed the four persons. They reportedly tried to break into the room of Mr. Prakash Bakale too, but fled from the scene after he called the police.
Four teams formed
Inspector-General of Police (Northern Range) Vikash Kumar Vikash, who visited the spot of the crime, told presspersons that four special teams had been formed to investigate the case and that the accused would be apprehended soon.
He said no valuables had been stolen from the house and there was no indication to show that the murders had been committed as part of a robbery attempt.
“Maybe the assailants wanted to kill the other two. We are checking the background of the family and their relatives. There is no clear picture yet on who were their targets and what was the reason. We are investigating from all angles,” he said.
Earlier Superintendent of Police B.S. Nemagouda visited the house. Law Minister H.K. Patil too visited the house and consoled the family.
