HUBBALLI: Two days after BJP ZP member Yogishgouda Goudar was stabbed to death in his gymnasium, Hubballi-Dharwad police have cracked the case on Friday and have arrested five persons on charges of murder.

The main accused Basavraj Mutagi (37) of Mangundi village of Dharwad is a pro-Kannada activist and also a close aide of district in-charge minister Vinay Kulkarni.

He was arrested along with Vinayak Katagi, Vikram Ballari, Kirtikumar Basavraj Kurahatti and Sandeep Savadatti. Police said the sixth accused is still at large and efforts are being made to arrest him.

The five had fled to Davangere soon after the murder but were caught when they were planning to leave again, claimed a policeman probing the case.

On Friday evening, addressing a packed media briefing room, Police Commissioner P H Rane said that the accused had planned the murder over a land dispute with Yogishgouda.

“The main accused in the incident Basavraj Muttagi had signed an agreement for 25 acres of land in Belligatti village in Survey No 118 and 119. It is said that Yogishgouda had purchased nine acres in the same plot and had encroached six acres. This had led to a dispute between the duo. Yogishgouda had warned Muttagi against purchasing the land, which was under his control,” Rane told reporters.

During interrogation, the accused told police that they had received repeated threat calls from Yogishgouda and so decided to eliminate him.