Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Oct 12: The Second Additional District and Sessions Court on Monday sentenced a 50-year-old man to life imprisonment for murdering his friend over a dispute regarding a damaged mobile phone in 2024.
The convicted has been identified as Dharmaraj Suvarna, a resident of Thota Bengre. The court found him guilty of murdering 39-year-old Muthu Basavaraj Vaddar alias Mudukappa, a native of Bagalkot.
Judge Jagadeesh pronounced the verdict on Monday, October 12, sentencing Suvarna to life imprisonment and imposing a fine of Rs 15,000 under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Failure to pay the fine will result in an additional six months of simple imprisonment.
According to the prosecution, the accused and the victim were acquaintances. Suvarna had recently purchased a new mobile phone, which Vaddar took but failed to return. An argument ensued after Vaddar allegedly damaged the device. In a fit of rage, Suvarna assaulted Vaddar with a wooden log on the beach behind the Bobbarya Daivasthana in Thota Bengre around 10 am on September 21, 2024, killing him on the spot.
Following a complaint filed by Hanumanth Durgappa Vaddar, the Panambur police registered a case.
Suvarna fled the state after committing the crime. However, the police tracked him down and apprehended him in the early hours of September 26, 2024, within the Chombala police station limits in Kozhikode district, Kerala.
The initial investigation was conducted by Panambur police inspector Mohammed Saleem Abbas. As provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were subsequently invoked, Mangaluru North sub-division ACP Srikanth K took over the investigation and filed the charge sheet before the court.
Special public prosecutor Jyothi Pramod Nayak argued the case on behalf of the state.