A special court in Karnataka convicted Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni and 18 others on Wednesday in connection with the 2016 murder of BJP leader Yogesh Gowda, marking the end of a nearly decade-long investigation. Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat announced the verdict, which also acquitted two individuals. The murder took place on June 15, 2016, when Gowda was attacked at a gym in Dhadwad. Initially investigated by local police, the case was later transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2019 after the BJP came to power. The CBI collected evidence and interviewed 113 witnesses, leading to Kulkarni's arrest in 2020. After being granted bail by the Supreme Court in 2021, his bail was later revoked due to allegations of witness tampering. Despite the ongoing case, Kulkarni contested the 2023 Assembly elections from Dharwad and won, with his family campaigning on his behalf during his absence due to legal restrictions.