Kannada journalist Ravi Belagere arrested for allegedly plotting to kill former colleague

mangaloretoday News Network

Bengaluru, Dec o8 2017: Bengaluru police and officials from the Central Crime Branch on Friday arrested Ravi Belagere (pictured above), editor of Kannada tabloid Hi Bangalore, on allegations of hiring a contract killer to murder a fellow journalist, The News Minute reported. The officials seized a revolver and 53 bullets, a double barrel gun and 41 bullets from his Bengaluru residence.

 

The Central Crime Branch had recently arrested two men for illegal possession of arms, The Hindu reported. During an interrogation, the men reportedly said that Belagere had hired them to kill journalist Sunil Heggaravanahalli.

“The suspicion is that he contracted the killing of journalist Sunil, but the murder did not happen as the two men were arrested,” an unidentified police official told The News Minute. According to News18, Belagere was produced before a magistrate on Friday. He has been remanded to custody till December 18.

Heggaravanahalli said he had quit Hi Bangalore two years ago because of some differences with Belagere. The journalist said they had been friends for 14 years.

Belagere was one of the two editors who were sentenced to jail for one year by the Speaker of the Karnataka Assembly in June for breach of privilege over alleged defamatory articles against legislators.



courtesy:scroll