Daijiworld Media Network - Puttur (SP)

Puttur, Oct 22: The fifth additional sessions court here, through a verdict delivered on Friday October 21, absolved all the seven accused of the charges levelled against them, relating to the murder of A S Ramakrishna, administrative officer of Kurunji Venkataramana Gowda (KVG) Medical College, Sullia. The court concluded that the charges were not conclusively proved.

The daylight murder of Ramakrishna with lethal weapons when he was on a walk, had shaken the entire district, and it was conceived to be result of family feud over the apportionment of educational institutions among the children of the late Kurunji Venkataramana Gowda.

Son of Venkataramana Gowda, Dr Renuka Prasad, Manoj Rai and Vaman Poojary from Bantwal, Nagesh from Sullia, Akash Bhavana Sharan and Bhavanishankar from Mangaluru, and Nagesh, a native of Sakleshpur, against whom charge sheets were filed, were absolved of the charges by the court.

Founder of Academy of Liberal Education and KVG educational institutions, Kurunji Venkataramana Gowda, had divided the educational institutions founded by him between his two sons, Dr Chidanand, and Renuka Prasad. The father had expressed his willingness to hand over administration to his sons as he was suffering from certain diseases and affect of old age at that time. It is said that administrative officer of KVG Medical College, A S Ramakrishna, who was close to Venkataramana Gowda, placed his weight firmly behind Chidanand, to the detriment of Dr Renuka Prasad. It was alleged that angered by the unjust sharing of institutions, Dr Renuka Prasad had got Ramakrishna eliminated with the help of some people, as he held the latter guilty of working against the former's interests.

Advocate from Udupi, M Shantaram Shetty, Y Vikram Hegde from Mangaluru, Venkappa Gowda from Sullia, Madhava Poojary from Puttur, and K Radhakrishna Rai from Mangaluru had appeared as defence lawyers in the court.