Why would I kill Heggaravalli: Belagere

Bengaluru: Editor Ravi  Belagere who was arrested denied murder charges on him

Belagere was arrested after contract killer, Shashidhar Mundewadi was arrested. It was suspected that Belagere allegedly gave supari to kill his colleague Sunil Heggaravalli.

Denying on the murder charges Belagere said “I groomed him. He was a member of my family for 15 years. Why would I want him dead?”

“If Heggaravalli had cheated me, I would have slapped him and counselled him. I had the liberty. He is no big rival that I had to kill him,” a source quoted Belagere as saying.

Belagere is housed at the office of ACP Subramanya. He has been provided a bed and a chair. A doctor is on standby to check his condition every two hours, a source said.

Meanwhile, the Central Crime Branch on Saturday continued searches on premises owned by Belagere.

The police are on a lookout for clues. A team visited his farm house in Joida in Uttara Kannada district, while another searched a building in Rajarajeshwari Nagar and seized some documents, according to Kanagavi.

A house where Belagere’s second wife Yashomathi lives, was also searched.

The police said the house was searched in her presence and a statement was obtained from her.