Daijiworld Media Network - Beltangady
Beltangady, Aug 18: The family of mahout Narayana Safalya and his sister Yamuna, who were brutally murdered at Bourje in Dharmasthala in 2012, has petitioned the Special Investigation Team (SIT) demanding a thorough probe into the case.
Narayana’s children, Ganesh and Bharati, submitted the petition at the SIT office in Beltangady on Monday. They urged the authorities to identify the culprits and deliver justice, pointing out that despite filing a complaint with the then Dakshina Kannada SP on November 5, 2013, no action was taken. A copy of the earlier complaint has also been attached with the fresh petition.
The SIT has acknowledged receipt of the petition and stated that it will be forwarded to the jurisdictional police station for further action.
Allegations in the petition
The petition alleges that Narayana and his sister Yamuna, who lived at their ancestral house in Bourje, had been facing repeated threats from Harshendra Kumar, brother of Dharmadhikari Dr Veerendra Heggade.
Harshendra allegedly pressured Narayana to vacate the property and even attacked him twice earlier. On September 20, 2012, he is said to have threatened Narayana with dire consequences if he did not vacate the house.
On September 21, 2012, Narayana and Yamuna returned home late after attending a drama staged during Vinayaka Chaturthi at the KSRTC bus stand. The next day, when the door remained unopened till noon, locals checked and found the siblings murdered — Narayana’s head smashed with a stone and Yamuna’s with a grinding stone.
The petition states that the murders were not motivated by robbery, as no valuables were taken, but by the intention to seize the house and land. It further alleges that when the matter was brought to Veerendra Heggade’s notice three days later, he dismissed it, saying, “What had to happen has happened, forget about it.” It also claims that Harshendra later locked the house and prevented the family from retrieving belongings.
Ganesh and Bharati have urged the SIT to reopen the case, conduct a fair investigation, and ensure justice for the murders of their father and aunt.