Hubballi: The Hubballi-Dharwad Police have solved the murder case of  Vaishnodevi temple priest by arresting the accused on Monday night. The suspect has been identified as Santosh Tippanna Bhojgar, 44, a resident of G Adda in the Kamaripet police station limits.

Speaking to reporters, Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar said that they have solved the murder case of Devendrappa Mahadevappa Vanahalli, a 63-year-old priest who was brutally stabbed to death on Sunday evening.

The commissioner revealed that the accused killed Devendrappa on suspicion that the priest had performed religious rituals on his family, leading to disturbing incidents. In recent years, the accused's three brothers and father had died, and his mother had suffered paralysis. Bhojgar believed these events were consequences of the deceased priest's rituals who did it on the request of Bhojgar's relatives.

Santosh Bhojgar had previously attempted to kill the priest in 2022 by stabbing, but Devendrappa survived the attack. Despite their best efforts, the Vidyanagar police failed to identify or apprehend the accused at that time.

Since then, the accused had been keeping a close watch on the priest's movements, waiting for an opportunity to strike again. On Sunday, after confirming that the priest was alone, Santosh stabbed him and fled the scene.

Following the murder, the police formed several teams to apprehend the suspect. More than 150 police personnel, including DCPs, ACPs, Inspectors, PSIs, and other officers, were involved in solving the case.

The accused did not flee the city and was arrested near his house based on a tip-off. Commissioner Kumar stated that while the suspect has confessed to the crime and provided a motive, the police will conduct further investigations to explore all angles of the murder. They plan to take the accused into police custody for questioning.

The police commissioner praised the team's efforts in quickly resolving the case and announced a cash prize of Rs 50,000 for their work.

DCPs Mahaning Nandagavi and Ravish CR, ACPs Shivaprakash Naik and Umesh Chikkamath, Inspectors Maruti Gullari, NS Kadadevarmath, MS Hugar, and others were present during the press conference.