Bengaluru: “My in-laws (Yogesh’s parents) and my family had spurned us as we got married without their consent. Ours was a love marriage, opposed by both sides. Still, we lived on our own,” says Mallamma Goudar, who was left with four children to care for when Yogesh Goudar was murdered in 2016. “What did I have then? A debt-ridden life without a husband and four young children,” a teary-eyed Mallamma said Friday. She recalled that her husband was a visionary who wanted to serve society. “Yogesh dreamt of a model village, where youths would be educated, there would be no drinking water problem, and above all, there would be modern houses, without tiles for a roof,” she said.“He would host mass marriages, sponsor festivals, and fund poor students. When he was killed, he had a Rs 28-lakh loan, which he had taken for social service. The creditors never insisted on repayment. I somehow managed to repay part of the loan. Now, my son, who is a college student, will fulfil his father’s dream of a model village,” she said. Akkamahadevi, Yogesh’s elder sister, wept as she thanked the court for providing justice. “Kulkarni’s threats to our family began in 2000, when he threatened my elder brother, Uday Goudar, over the zilla panchayat election. Thereafter, he had Yogesh killed, fearing that he would grow strong politically,” she said.Basavaraj Koravar, a close associate of Yogesh, expressed relief and joy at the judgment. “This is a win for democracy and justice. This is a historic case wherein CBI did a wonderful job and so did the public prosecutors,” he said.
