Dharwad: The CID, investigating high-profile M M Kalburgi murder case is suspecting that any right-wing group might have hired supari killers to commit the crime.

It may be recalled that MM Kalburgi was shot down by two unidentified men at his Kalyan Nagar residence in Dharwad on August 30 last year.

Sources from the CID said that over 20 Hindu right-wing groups have been under scanner for the last three months and the probing team is close to crack the identity of the group and the killers.

The officials have the opinion that same hitmen hired by the group, to kill rationalist Narendra Dabholkar and social activist Govind Pansare might have been involved in the Kalburgi murder case too.

The suspicion of the involvement of same hitmen in the murder of three scholars is based on the ballistic report of the bullets used in the Kalburgi murder that linked the weapon used in the two earlier assassinations.

If proved right, it would be contrary to the arrests made by the Maharashtra police in the two murders.

Samir Gaikwad, an alleged activist from Goa-based Sanatan Sanstha was arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in connection with the Pansare murder case. The police are on the lookout for another absconding accused, Rudra Patil, in the case.

Inspector-General of Police Hemanth Nimbalkar along with other officials probing the case have camped in Dharwad for the last two days and also visited the house of the slain scholar on Thursday to collect some information about the murder.

Officials said they wanted to verify certain information with the family members, but beyond that the visit was a courtesy one.