Prathima was part of a joint inspection team that inspected illegal blasts and illegal quarrying

Pratima had fired a driver named Kiran just one week back

Kiran and two others are currently under police custody

The police are currently exploring various angles to the murder of Pratima KS, a senior geologist in the Department of Mines and Geology. 

Prathima was part of a joint inspection team that inspected illegal blasts and illegal quarrying across 10 sites in Yelahanka. In July 2023, a case was registered against a BJP MLA and three others named Anand, V Ganesh and Radhamma at the Chikkajala police station for alleged illegal quarrying in survey numbers 177/3, 178/1–2–3, 179 at Hunasamaranahalli, and 34/1–2–3 and 17/7–8–9 at Sonnappanahalli. “Illegal quarrying has been done without permission in four acres and five guntas of land; 51,460 metric tonnes of earth has been excavated in four areas. There is a stockpile of 5,000 metric tonnes of building stone at the site; 25,876 metric tonnes of building stone were transported elsewhere. Due to this, the government has faced a loss of Rs 25.35 lakh,” the report stated as per a Right To Information (RTI) application filed by a citizen. 

It has also come to light that Pratima had fired a driver named Kiran just one week before the tragedy unfolded. Kiran’s phone has apparently been switched off since the murder. The police are probing the angle of revenge as well. Kiran and two others are currently under police custody.