Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SP)
Updated
Udupi, Jan 11: Udupi police have cracked two difficult and related murder cases, and arrested 12 persons in all.
In relation to the murder of rowdy-sheeter Varwady Praveen Kulal at Kotnakatte in Hiriadka on December 19, 2016, Hiriadka police have completed the investigation and arrested the five accused murderers, said Udupi SP K T Balakrishna addressing a press meet here on Wednesday January 11.
In this respect, accused, Santosh Ram alias Puthige Santhu from Hiriadka, Santosh Madivala alias Mambettu Santhu from Hiriadka Ontibettu, Santosh Poojary alias Santhu, who is currently lodged in Hindalaga jail at Belagavi, Latesh Poojary from Palimar, and Sujeet Pinto from Santhekatte here, have been arrested. All of them were produced in the court and remanded to judicial custody at present.
The SP said that Praveen Kulal had hatched a plan to eliminate Santosh Poojay. This matter came to the knowledge of Santosh Poojary, who is in Hindalaga jail now, through Mambettu Santosh. Relating to this issue, Santosh Ram, Santosh Madivala and Latesh Poojary reportedly met Santosh Poojary at Belagavi jail where they are said to have planned to murder Praveen Kulal. Sujeet Pinto reportedly handed over Rs 1,50,000 to Santosh Madivala to complete this task.
Kulal was invited to Diya Bar at Kotanakatte in Hiriadka through Santosh Madivala on December 19, 2016. Santosh Madivala sent a message to Santosh Ram, conveying information that Kulal was in the bar. Santosh Ram, and Latesh Poojary reportedly reached the bar with swords in hand and attacked Kulal. When Kulal ran out, the accused followed him, and murdered him with sharp weapons they were wielding.
The investigation of this case was conducted under the guidance of district superintendent of police, K T Balakrishna and additional superintendent of police, Vishnuvardhan, and under the directions of deputy superintendent of police of the local subdivision, Kumaraswamy, by Brahmavar circle inspector, Srikant K, district crime intelligence bureau inspector,Sampat Kumar,, and Hiriadka station house officer, Vinayak Billava with support from other personnel. Two swords, a sickle used to slice open tender coconuts, a motor bike, a Maruti Ritz car and cash amounting to Rs 1,25,000 were confiscated from the accused during the investigation, the police stated.
Abduction, torture and murder of Santosh Nayak - Eight arrested
District superintendent of police (SP), K T Balakrishna, addressing a press conference here on Wednesday January 11, said that the police have succeeded in cracking the case of murder of Santosh Nayak from Parkala Sannakkibettu on December 2, 2016. He added that he police personnel have solved this case filed in Hiriadka police station, where the mortal remains of the victim were destroyed by the concerned.
Santosh Nayak had gone missing since December 2, 2016. Sumitra Nayak, wife of Santosh Nayak, had filed a complaint in Hiriadka police station on January 4 this year, alleging that Praveen Kulal from Varwady, who was murdered on December 19, along with some others had murdered her husband and disposed off his body. It was during the investigation into the Praveen Kulal murder case that the details of Santosh Nayak's murder came to light.
On the basis of murder case registered in the station, the persons accused, Prasad (23) from Yarlapady, Dayanand (37) from Krishnapura, Wilfred Arthur (40) from Udupi, Jayant Pai (55) from Hiriadka, Krishna (33) from Pernankila, Mahesh Achary (23) from Marne, Ramesh (35) from Pernankila and Prakash were arrested and questioned. Among them, Jayant Pai is already in jail in connection to another case and was not produced in front of the press.
The SP stated that during the course of interrogation of the accused, it came to light that Santosh Nayak, who had borrowed Rs 40 lac from the accused, Nityanand Nayak, Jayant Pai and Wilfred Arthur was harassing them without paying back the debt since the last five to six years. These three persons therefore asked Praveen Kulal to recover the money due to them on their behalf. Praveen abducted Santosh Nayak on December 2, 2016 from the house of his in-laws and led him to Varwady where he tried to force him to repay money by torturing him along with his accomplices. He also invited Nityanand Nayak, Jayant Pai and Wilfred Arthur to that spot and tortured Santosh again in their presence in an effort to coerce Santosh into repaying the debt. Santosh, unable to bear the torture, died on the spot.
The same night, Praveen Kulal, along with his associates, reached the house of Santosh Nayak at Sannakkibettu, broke open the door of the house, and forced open the closets and almirahs inside the house to search for cash and valuables concealed if any. They then dug out the spot below the pedestal of the puja room to find hidden wealth if any. But they did not get anything there. Santosh's wife, Sumitra, mother, Ratnavati Nayak, brother, Vidyadhar, sister-in-law, Shobha and children of the deceased were threatened and forcibly taken in a car to Varwady where he tried to extract information about the whereabouts of money without any success. After snatching away ornaments around their necks, fingers and ankles, they were dropped back at Sanakkibettu. The same night, Kulal, with the help of his associates, chopped Santosh Nayak's body, stuffed the pieces in a gunny bag and threw the same into a discarded well inside the forest region at Pernankila. They also set fire to a calf to create a false 'crime scene' about a hundred meters from the well to mislead the police.
Car and ropes used for this crime have been confiscated, the SP stated. Process is on to recover the remains of the body, the SP said.
The investigation was conducted under the guidance of district SP, K T Balakrishna and additional SP, Vishnuvarhan, and directions of deputy superintendent of police here, Kumaraswamy, by Brahmavar police circle inspector, Srikant K, district crime intelligence bureau inspector, Sampat Kumar with team, Hiriadka station police sub-inspector, Vinayaka Billava and other personnel of the station with help from CDR department.