Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SP/JS)
Updated
Udupi, Nov 23: The third additional court here has granted temporary injunction against interference by others in running Hotel Durga International here, involving Bhaskar Bhat and his wife, Rajeshwari Shetty.
On behalf of Rajeshwari Shetty, who is currently in judicial custody relating to murder charges filed against her, her advocate had filed an appeal for injunction, claiming that Guruprasad Shetty, Gulabi Shetty and others belonging to Bhaskar Shetty's family have been interfering with the affairs of the said hotel, which was being run by Rajeshwari Shetty on the basis authority vested to her by her husband. The court has upheld her request.
Bhaskar Shetty with wife Rajeshwari and son Navaneet
The court, through an order, noted that Rajeshwari Shetty holds the right to run the affairs of the said hotel, and that no one else has any authority to obstruct her. It has asked Rajeshwari to properly manage the hotel affairs and file a report about the same in the court. Rajeshwari was represented by Mangaluru-based advocate, M Chidanand Kedilaya, in the court.
In a press conference held at Mangaluru on Wednesday November 23 attended by advocates from the city, Arun Bangera, M Chidanand Kedilaya and Arun Shetty, it was explained that NRI entrepreneur, Bhaskar Shetty, had got Hotel Durga International building constructed in a plot standing in the name of his wife, Rajeshwari Shetty, duly raising loan for the purpose from Karnataka Bank's Adi Udupi branch. As such, after Bhaskar Shetty, Rajeshwari Shetty automatically got legal rights to operate this hotel. Rajeshwari issued letter of authority to her mother, Sumathi Raghuram Shetty, to run this hotel and also manage the loan outstanding against it in the bank. Accordingly, Sumathi was managing the affairs by hiring staff for the purpose.
"In the meantime, Bhaskar Shetty's relatives, Guruprasad Shetty, Jogu Shetty, Jayanti Shetty, Chandrashekhar Shetty and Nirmala Shetty began to interfere in the day-to-day affairs of the hotel and create bottlenecks. They also created a scene and took over the hotel operation forcibly. Rajeshwari's mother Sumathi Raghuram Shetty, who is holding letter of authority from Rajeshwari Shetty, had filed suit in the court of the principal civil judge and JMFC court, seeking injunction against defendants, Guruprasad Shetty, Jogu Shetty, Jayanti Shetty, Chandrashekhar Shetty and Nirmala Shetty. The court, after hearing the arguments placed on behalf of Sumathi Shetty, issued temporary injunction against the defendants, their employees, agents and others. The amount collected from the hotel will go towards the loan." the advocates explained.
Addressing the press meet, Rajeshwari's sister Renuka Rai dismissed claims that the family had Rs 350-400 crore worth of properties and said, "This idea that the family has properties worth Rs 350-400 crore is over-hyped. Most of the business is in Saudi Arabia and is managed by Bhaskar Shetty's relatives. In Saudi we are expats and have no right to own property, so it is merely business. The house at Indrali is worth Rs 2 crore. The property on which Hotel Durga International was built was given by mother and registered as a gift, and the hotel itself is worth about Rs 6-7 crore. Rajeswari owns 50 percent of the share in the hotel and the rest was owned by her husband. The gym run by Navaneeth is worth about Rs 1.5 crore, and there is another building called 'Shankar' worth Rs 3 crore. There is a loan of Rs 6.5 crore on all these properties, so together, the total property is worth only about Rs 10 crore, and not Rs 350-400 crore as claimed.
"Bhaskar Shetty's family is trying to mislead the people and the police with all these false claims. Hence we called this press meet to clarify things," she added.