The special court has granted liberty to the CBI to prosecute several witnesses who had turned hostile before the court as well as the registration of perjury cases against police officers Shivananda Chalavadi, Babu Katagi and Shankaragouda Basanagouda Patil for trying to protect the accused and seven Independent witnesses.A special court in Bengaluru on Wednesday convicted Congress MLA from Dharwad Vinay Kulkarni, and 15 others for the 2016 murder of a BJP worker, Yogish Goudar, in Dharwad region of Karnataka on June 15, 2016. Kulkarni is also the chairman of the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on Thursday.Goudar was murdered by hired assailants days after his family had received an anonymous warning of impending death.The CBI prosecutors Hema K S and Shivananda Perla are likely to seek life imprisonment for the MLA and his associates. Kulkarni, 56, was not initially named in the case and his involvement came to the fore during the CBI investigations. Two others who were among the 21 original accused in the case, Vasudeva Rama Nilekani and Somashekar Basappa Nyamagouda, were acquitted by the court giving them “benefit of doubt”.The special court has granted liberty to the CBI to prosecute several witnesses who had turned hostile before the court as well as the registration of perjury cases against police officers Shivananda Chalavadi, Babu Katagi and Shankaragouda Basanagouda Patil for trying to protect the accused and seven Independent witnesses.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Bengaluru