Belagavi: District police have cracked a sensational murder case involving former soldier Sandeep Manjaragi, 46, and arrested nine accused. Addressing the media on Monday, SP K Ramarajan said the crime took place within the Ghataprabha and Yamakanmardi police limits.The accused allegedly conspired to murder Manjaragi to claim an insurance amount of Rs 2 crore. Police said the group also attempted to destroy evidence to prevent detection of poison in forensic examination reports. All nine accused have been taken into custody, and further investigation is underway.According to SP Ramarajan, on March 13, Manjaragi’s bike skidded within the limits of Yamakanmardi police station. He was first admitted to a govt hospital and later shifted to Ghataprabha JG Hospital. He was declared dead on March 15, with the cause cited as a heart attack.However, suspicion arose as he had not suffered serious injuries in the accident. His body was sent to BIMS Hospital for postmortem, and the initial FSL report also ruled out poisoning.The death was initially portrayed as an accident, but the probe later revealed it was a premeditated murder. There were also allegations of attempts to divert the investigation by tampering with postmortem findings and the FSL report. For the first time in the state, the alleged involvement of FSL officials in a murder case has come to light, he said.Among those arrested are the deceased’s wife, Suma Manjaragi, her lover Pundalik Dombar, and her friend Sachin Selar. Others include FSL senior scientific officer PM Nagaraj, lab assistant Channappa Adaviswamimath, clerk Appasab Naikwadi, and Ashok Gujanal, an assistant at the police commissioner’s office.Police said there were allegations that Rs 3 lakh was paid to manipulate the report. The investigation revealed that the money was distributed by Suma, and the FSL officials were contacted through FDA Ashok Gujanal.A social media post by Pundalik Dombar gave a new twist to the case, and the conspiracy was fully exposed during police interrogation. Suma and Pundalik had been in an illicit relationship for the past two-and-a-half years. Meanwhile, insurance policies worth about Rs 2 crore had been taken in Sandeep’s name from three companies, which became the motive for the murder.The investigation further revealed that Sandeep was admitted to a special room at JG Hospital with the help of staffer Rahul Jogi. Poison was allegedly mixed into a saline bottle and administered to him. RMP doctor Basavaraj Bhasme was also involved in the crime, police said.
