Twelve persons were arrested on the charge of killing six persons in Govindpur village, near Chadchan of Vijayapura district in Karnataka, on May 29 in connection with a land dispute.

The accused — Kallanagouda Eshwaragouda Patil, Appugouda Lagamanagouda Patil, Eshwarappa Lagamanagouda Patil, Prakash Basavaraj Mastra alias Patil, Parugouda Basavaraj Patil alias Prashant, Siddaram Kallanagouda Patil, Layappa Neneppa Biradar, Chidanand Namadeva Koli alias Takkalaki, Masidda Sreemanth Biradar, Sreemanth Shankareppa Biradar, Shankareppa Mahadev Arikeri, Appasaheb Shankar Bovi — were produced in court on June 1.

These 12, and some unidentified persons face the charge of killing Dundappa Revanasiddappa Nirale, Shivaputra Revanasiddappa Nirale, Chandrakanth alias Chandu Revanasiddappa Nirale, Rahul Shivaputra Nirale, Samartha Shivaputra Nirale, 23, Shabbir Babusaba Attar, in Govindpur village near Chadchan in Vijayapura district, in Karnataka. Two others Aravind Yashwant Katage, and Sandeep Bharat Mane, were injured.

Police said that a long-standing rivalry between two families had led to the murders, which took place on the land of the deceased on May 29.

Some years ago, Shashikanth Ramesh Teli, Prashantha Ramesh Teli, Kamaninga Sangappa Teli, and Mahadev Sangappa Teli, had murdered Shivanand Kallanagouda Patil, a member of the Talwar community, accusing him of kidnapping a girl belonging to the Ganiga community. A court had found them guilty of the crime and handed down a punishment. After that, the accused and their relatives left the village, and settled elsewhere.

Since then, the land belonging to their families has remained unclaimed. Recently, members of the Nirale family bought the land and were trying to cultivate it. This allegedly enraged the family of Kallanagouda Patil, and others, who attacked members of the Nirale family and their associates.

A team of officers, including the Additional Superintendent of Police, Deputy SP, and CPI Chadchan, visited the village. A police force comprising of three district armed reserve and four Karnataka State reserve police teams have been deployed in the village.