DHAKA: Renowned Indian scholar and rationalist, M M Kalburgi, has been killed after being shot by unidentified men in the southern state of Karnataka.

Police have said, reports Al Jazeera.

Police said on Sunday that two men came to Kalburgi’s residence in the town of Dharwad, nearly 400km from IT hub of Bangalore, and shot him after he opened the door.

Kalburgi, a recipient of several literary awards, including prestigious Sahitya Academy, was rushed to the district hospital by his family members but died on the way.

The Times of India newspaper said that the police ‘strongly suspect’ he may have been the target of ‘Hindu fundamentalists’.

Dharwad City Police Commissioner Ravindra Prasad, however, told Al Jazeera that police was considering it as a case of murder and a ‘special squad’ has been formed to crack the case.

He said the police was not suspecting the hands of any group and that investigation was under way with a ‘clean mind’.

Kalburgi, who was former vice chancellor of Kannada University, in the southern town of Hampi, was in a controversy last year in June for his remarks against ‘idol worship’, which is an important aspect of Hindu belief.

Far-right groups such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishat and Bajrang Dal had filed cases against him and also demanded his arrest for allegedly offending religious sentiments.

Kalburgi had recently requested the police to withdraw armed guards, who were deployed at his house after receiving a number of threats over his remarks on idol worship, International Business Times India reported.

His murder comes months after a social activist Govind Pansare was killed while on a morning walk in the city of Kolhapur in the western Maharashtra state.

The killing is a reminiscent of the murder of rationalist and author Narendra Dabholkar in the western city of Pune in 2013.

BDST: 1827 HRS, AUG 30, 2015
RR