Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (HB)
Udupi, Aug 9: Relatives of businessman Bhaskar Shetty have demanded a free and fair probe in his murder and urged the authorities to ensure that the assets belonging to Shetty do not pass on to his wife and son who have been accused in the case. Bunt community leaders, meanwhile, demanded that district BJP president and lawyer Mattar Ratnakar Hegde, being a Bunt, should withdraw from representing the accused in the case.
Speaking to reporters during a meeting of Bunt community leaders in the light of Bhaskar Shetty's murder here on Tuesday August 9, Bhaskar's brother-in-law (sister's husband) Chandrashekar, who had worked for several years with Bhaskar in Saudi Arabia, said, "Bhaskar and I married on the same day and we were planning to celebrate our 25th anniversaries on May 22 this year with a grand event. But Bhaskar told me that his wife had objected to it. We suspected then that there was some marital discord between them.
"His son Navaneeth dropped out of college in the third year of engineering. He too was in a love affair and so also his mother Rajeshwari. Bhaskar was opposed to both the affairs, and hence they conspired to get rid of him," he alleged.
"While Bhaskar was in Saudi, Rajeshwari misused the money that came in as income, which led to quarrels. Bhaskar was a soft-spoken person and never talked more than necessary. All the years that I was with him, he never spoke anything against his wife and gave her full freedom and all luxuries. Her phone bills ran into several thousands of rupees.
"On May 8 Bhaskar came to his native from Saudi. His son's gym was to be inaugurated, it was Niranjan Bhat, the other accused, who led the ceremony. They did not wait for Bhaskar to arrive and inaugurated the gym in his absence. That had hurt him," he added.
"Bhaskar did have suspicions about Rajeshwari's fidelity and he confided in his mother during his last visit. He had told his mother that he planned to bequeath his property to some other family member in his will and divorce Rajeshwari," he claimed.
On how Niranjan Bhat came into contact with the family, he said, "Rajeshwari had fallen ill and it was Niranjan Bhat who conducted some rituals to cure her. Thereafter he started visiting her often."
About the way in which Bhaskar was killed, Chandrashekar said, "They used matchboxes, iron rod, pepper spray, camphor and poison for committing the crime. On July 28, when Bhaskar came out of his room, they sprayed pepper into his eyes and then hit him with the rod. When he did not die, they pushed his head into a tub of water and then took him to a room and forced poison into him. They then wrapped the body in sheets and took it to Nandalike.
"The body was consigned to flames in the hall at Niranjan Bhat's house and then put into the 'homa kunda' and burnt until 1 am till it completely turned to ashes. Also, both Navaneeth and Niranjan were dressed in white to give an appearance that they were performing some puja," he alleged, adding that later on, the bricks in the 'homa kunda' were replaced to remove all traces.
"We do not want their money, but they should be punished and justice should be done. We urge the government and the authorities concerned not to let Bhaskar's assets go to them. He did not deserve to die this way. The law should not show any leniency," he urged.
During the meeting, Bunt community leaders were of the opinion that being a Bunt, district BJP president and lawyer Mattaru Ratnakar Hegde should not represent Rajeshwari and Navaneeth in the court, as reports suggest.
Jayakar Shetty Indrali said that it would be tough to prove the murder as there was still no trace of the body or its remains, and hence no evidence of death. He also pointed out that when Bhaskar's mother filed a complaint about her missing son, Rajeshwari and Navaneeth had not said a word. "This is a well-planned murder and the accused should be punished. There should be unbiased probe into the case," he said. He also urged the Brahmin community not to support Niranjan Bhat just as Bunt community should not support Rajeshwari and her son.
"Now Karkala ASP Sumana is investigating the case, but it should handed over to higher officials," he added.
Birthi Rajesh Shetty also flayed Mattar Ratnakar Hegde for reportedly deciding to represent the accused in the case. "Being a Bunt, it is wrong on his part. Let someone else represent them," he said.
International human rights executive secretary Rohit Shetty from Bengaluru said that district in-charge minister Pramod Madhwaraj should take active interest in the case and ensure that there is unbiased probe.
It was also decided to submit a memorandum to Pramod Madhwaraj on Wednesday August 9.
Bhaskar's mother Gulabi, Kaup Leeladhar Shetty, Manohar Shetty, Innanje Uday Kumar Shetty, Suresh Shetty Gurme, and others were present.