Vinay Kulkarni, Congress MLA from Dharwad, Karnataka, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a special court in the high-profile murder case of 2016. Congress MLA has been punished in the murder case of BJP leader Yogesh Gowda. Apart from Kulkarni, 16 other accused have also been sentenced to the same punishment in this case. Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat of the special court for public representatives based in Bengaluru announced the sentence. The court convicted Kulkarni under sections 302 (murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. However, he was acquitted of Arms Act charges.
Actually, the matter is of June 15, 2016, when Yogesh Gowda was murdered with sharp weapons inside a gym in Saptapur area of Dharwad. This incident created widespread discussion in political circles at that time. The initial investigation was conducted by the local police, but the case was later handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation in 2019 due to allegations of political rivalry.
The court had convicted Kulkarni and other accused on April 15, after which the sentence was announced today. The prosecution had sought life imprisonment without any relief for the accused, while the defense had appealed for leniency citing family responsibilities, which was rejected by the court.
Four policemen have also been convicted in this case, including the then Dharwad South Deputy SP and investigating officer Chennakeshav Tingrikar. Tingrikar has been sentenced to 7 years. Kulkarni and other convicts were in judicial custody for the last three days. The court has directed the jail administration to provide them necessary facilities as per the jail manual.
According to legal experts, Vinay Kulkarni’s MLA membership may be automatically terminated due to his imprisonment for more than two years, as per the provision in the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Kulkarni had won the Dharwad Rural seat in the 2023 assembly elections and has been claiming his innocence throughout the case.
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