Congress MLA and chairman of the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board Vinay Kulkarni, 56, who is in prison in connection with the 2016 murder of BJP worker Yogesh Gowda in North Karnataka’s Dharwad, has moved a special court in Bengaluru seeking to be released on bail for 10 days in connection with a surgery for his son.
Kulkarni was arrested for the second time in the murder case on June 14 after the Supreme Court cancelled his bail on June 6 following allegations by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) with regard to influencing witnesses. The special court is likely to decide on Kulkarni’s bail plea on Tuesday.
The CBI has opposed the plea, stating that it would hamper the trial. Kulkarni has sought bail on humanitarian grounds on account of his son’s leg surgery. The probe agency has argued that it is not an emergency surgery and hence urgent bail is not mandated.
“The learned counsel for accused No.15 has filed a bail application under Section 439 of CrPC, seeking bail for a limited period of 10 days. He has filed a memo with documents. Learned Senior Public Prosecutor is present and has vehemently submitted that they may be provided with sufficient opportunity to file objections since she was served with the copy only today morning,” the special court for elected representatives noted on Monday while adjourning the plea.
Earlier on April 25, 2025, the special court had cancelled the bail of Chandrashekar Indi alias Chandu Mama, a close associate of Kulkarni, on accusations of influencing witnesses but had rejected a plea by the CBI to cancel the bail of Kulkarni as well.
The CBI later approached the Supreme Court and the apex court cancelled Kulkarni’s bail on June 6, forcing him to surrender before the special court on June 14.
As many as 21 people are accused in the Yogesh Gowda murder case of June 15, 2016. Gowda’s family had received an anonymous letter a few days before the murder, warning about the BJP worker’s impending death. He was subsequently murdered at his gym in Dharwad, allegedly by hired assailants.
Story continues below this ad
Initially, the local police arrested six people in the case, but later, on the request of the family of the victim, the case was transferred by the then BJP government to the CBI and 15 more people, including the Congress MLA from Dharwad, were found to be involved.
The CBI has alleged in a supplementary chargesheet that Kulkarni was the “main conspirator” in the murder case and that he hatched the conspiracy to kill Gowda, who was perceived as a political threat. His close relative Chandu Mama is alleged to have provided the logistical support to execute the murder.
In April this year, the special court cancelled Chandu Mama’s bail after the probe agency alleged that two witnesses had turned hostile after the release of Chandu Mama from prison.