ACF murder: CID team in Dandeli for investigation

Karwar, May 11: A CID team arrived in Dandeli on Friday to probe the murder of Madan Nayak, Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF), Dandeli.

The state government had transferred the ACF murder case to CID on Wednesday following allegations that the Dandeli rural police had not handled it properly. The CID officials --- KP Bheemaih, SP, and BB Ashok Kumar, DSP --- visited the spot where the ACF was allegedly attacked by a group of tourists from Bagalkot. They held discussions with Subhash Gudimani, additional SP, Uttara Kannada, and other local officials.

Meanwhile, the alleged delay by the Dandeli police in sending information about the arrest of Aravind Chauvan, an employee of the Dandeli City Municipal Corporation, and his wife Shailaja Chauvan, and Anand Sign, an engineer with KPTCL, has kicked up a row.

All the three are government servants and are in the custody of police on the charges of murdering Madan Nayak. Friends and relatives of Nayak have alleged that the Dandeli rural police have deliberately withheld the information about their arrests from the government departments concerned. They said that it is mandatory on the part of the police to give information about the arrests to the respective departments.

DK Shivakumar, deputy director of education, Sirsi education district, said the police have not given information about the arrest of Shailaja Chauvan, a teacher, to the BEO of Haliyal taluk. Once the information is received, the department will act as per rules, he said.

The officials of Dandeli City Municipal Council said that police should have sent a copy of FIR and information of arrest of Aravind Chauvan to CMC officials. Even four days after the arrest of Aravind, no such information had come from police. ``Once the police inform us about the arrest, we will the inform deputy commissioner who will take action,'' the CMC sources said.

Sub-inspector of police Dandeli Rural station Praveen Nilammanavar said all papers about the arrests had been forwarded to the departments concerned on Thursday itself and would reach them on Friday.