Corporator arrested for murder of RTI activist

Bangalore. 13 Dec 2012 (TNN): Congress corporator from Azad Nagar Gowramma Govindaraju was arrested on Wednesday in connection with the murder of RTI activist Lingaraju Devendrappa.Congress corporator from Azad Nagar Gowramma Govindaraju was arrested on Wednesday in connection with the murder of RTI activist Lingaraju Devendrappa.

Gowramma’s husband, Govindaraju, was arrested earlier for giving a contract for Lingaraju’s murder.

Police said Gowramma was arrested from a hotel in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu in the morning. A special team had been on her trail after the Karnataka high court, which is monitoring the probe, on Monday pulled up the investigators for the delay in her arrest.

The police learnt that Gowramma was holed up in a hotel. "She was running out of money and she had no option but to call her family. We traced the call to the hotel and raided it in the morning," police sources said.

The sources added: "Govindaraju and others have said Gowramma was not aware either of the conspiracy to murder or the execution." Police suspect Govindaraju is only trying to save his wife.

"Lingaraju had tipped off the Lokayukta on Gowramma’s illegal earnings. Govindaraju cashed in on her name and power," the sources explained, adding, "Being a family friend, Lingaraju knew all about Gowramma and her alleged corrupt dealings. She reportedly accused Lingaraju of backstabbing her."