Officials murder: Four detained

BANGALORE: The Special Investigation Team headed by senior police officials formed to crack the fatal attack on deputy director in the Directorate of Cooperative Audit,  S P Mahantesh, has gathered vital clues about the assailants. Home Minister R Ashok told reporters on Monday that the police investigation team led by two senior officials, including Pranab Mohanty and Ravikanthe Gowda, has detained four suspects and has also taken note that two to three close confidants of the slain official are absconding.Asserting that the government has taken the incident very seriously, the Home Minister said a team has also been sent to neighbouring states to gather clues as part of the investigation.The Home Minister also said the police are leaving no stone unturned and are looking into several dimensions,  including a family feud which could have led to the murderous attack.Expressing confidence that the police team will show results in a couple of days, the Minister declared that “elements responsible for the death of a senior government official will not be spared however influential or strong”.Referring to the arrest of people protesting against the death of Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Madan Nayak, who was allegedly attacked by tourists near Karwar, the Minister appealed to people not to take law into their own hands. The inquiry into the officer’s death is in progress and there is no question of letting the culprits escape, the Minister added.Earlier, Bangalore City Police Commissioner Jyotiprakash Mirji, who also spoke about the attack on Mahantesh, said the “inquiry was going on in the right direction”.  He also said there was no need to refer the case to the CID.