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Dr. Malleshappa Madivalappa Kalburgi, a renowned scholar and rationalist thinker, was shot dead by two unidentified men at his home in Dharwad, Karnataka on August 30. He died at the age of 77.
Kalburgi was an academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of Kannada University in Hampi. He was awarded the National Sahitya Akademi award in 2006 for Marga 4, a collection of his research articles.
It is believed that Dr Kalburgi made many enemies within his own Lingayat community - an influential Hindu sect - with his outspoken remarks about its traditional beliefs and practices.
His murder comes months after CPI leader and social activist Govind Pansare was killed in Kolhapur in Maharastra. This killing is reminiscent of the murder of rationalist and author Narendra Dabholkar in Pune in 2013.
The Karnataka government has handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe into the murder.