Daijiworld News Network - Udupi (GA)

Udupi, Mar 1: The district sessions court has acquitted two of the accused in the 6-year-old Renold Praveen Kumar murder attempt case.  The accused Tejappa Mendon and Gopal Shettigar have been acquitted in the case.

Renold Praveen was run over by a jeep owned by Tejappa Mendon and driven by Aslam Khan on Convent Road on April 7, 2000.  Aslam Khan had then fled the place on the same jeep.  Renold was first admitted to Mitra Hospital here and then shifted to KMC Hospital at Manipal.  Renold was then the vice president of the town council.

Along with Tejappa Mendon and Aslam Khan, jewellery owner Alevoor Prabhakar Acharya and Gopal Shettigar were accused in the case.  Aslam Khan was arrested a couple of days later but had managed to obtain bail from the court.  But from then he has not reported back to the court despite several court orders.

The other accused Alevoor Prabhakar Acharya was murdered some 4 years ago.  Though Gopal Shettigar and Tejappa Mendon were arrested after the attack, they too were released later on bail.

Now the court in its judgement has acquitted both Gopal Shettigar and Tejappa Mendon.  As Alevoor Prabhakar Acharya was murdered since the progress of hearing, the case against him was withdrawn.  But the case against Aslam Khan is still pending in the court.