Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SP)

Udupi, Feb 3: A person named Vijay Karanth (31), residing near the milk dairy in Karkada near Saligrama in Udupi district died under mysterious circumstances on Monday February 2.

There is no concrete information as to whether there were eyewitnesses to his death, whether it was a murder or natural death. As such, a number of rumours and hearsay stories are making the rounds.

Vijay had married a girl named Deepa (25) from near Sasthan three years back. His marital life was full of discords, it is said.

It is said that the incident took place at around 1.30 pm on Monday. It is learnt that Jalaja Poojarthi, a neighbour of Vijay, told her nephew Sharat, that Vijay was lying on the road opposite his house. Sharat said he took pity on Vijay, who had of late taken to drinking, went to where he was lying, made him drink some water, and sprayed some water on his face.

Vijay used to live alone. He was a skilled cricket player. On Sunday too he had gone out to take part in a local cricket match and had come back.

The locals said that on Sunday, Karkada cricket team, of which Vijay was a member, had defeated Udyavar team at a match held at Udyavar, and to celebrate this occasion, a party had been arranged on Sunday night. Some said Vijay was found to be not able to stand erect even on Monday morning, and got involved with argument with a neighbour relating to a girl. It is claimed that this verbal duel culminated in Vijay getting beaten up and killed. On the left side of the rib cage of Vijay, a hole which appeared to have been made by an iron rod piercing through his body, was found. It is said that blood stains were visible in Vijay's house too, but they were wiped out before people gathered there.

Vijay was being taken to Manipal Hospital, but on the way he was examined in a private hospital at Brahmavar. The doctors there said he had already died, and his death had occurred due to the fact that a sharp object had entered his lungs.

On Monday, Vijay was said to have been alone at home. His father, Bhaskar Karanth, a cook by profession, had gone to Mangaluru in connection with his work. Vijay's elder brother, Umesh, reportedly works as a priest in a nearby temple. Vijay Karanth, who was a skilled cricketer, worked as a caterer.

Early in the morning, it was said that Vijay fell down from above and lost his life. However, as the day progressed, the rumour about fight and lethal attack started to gain ground.

Kota police visited the spot and registered a case. They are collecting all pieces of information to find out the truth behind Vijay's death.