Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SP)

Udupi, Sep 5: The love affair between a boy and a minor girl from Palimar in the taluk had culminated in both of them eloping from their native place on Wednesday September 3 morning. The incident took a new twist after the girl's body was found floating in Shambhavi river on Thursday September 4.

As a result, the complaint filed by the girl's father, Madhava Servegar residing near Palimar Bagiltaya House near Padubidri that had accused the youth of kidnapping his minor daughter, has been converted into murder case.

The boy in question has been charged with murder based on the fact that only the girl's body was found from the rivulet. It was found in Mattu region on Thursday evening. Parts of her body had been found to have been bitten away by fish. The boy or his body remained untraced till Thursday night.

Initially, it was thought that Bhagyashree Servegar (17) and Pradeep Poojary (25), who had fled from their respective houses together, would have decided to commit suicided out of apprehension that the castes to which they belong might hamper their plans of living together, and the doubt that their elders would not approve of their relationship. But the police department, in principle, is not prepared to rest on this theory. Their suspicion that the girl would have been pushed into the rivulet by the boy before running away, cannot be totally ruled dismissed as impossible. The department, which is trying to locate the present whereabouts of Poojary, believes that it can get a clearer idea only after this task is achieved.

The family members, who were called to identify the body, confirmed the identity. Bhagyashree, said to be a brilliant student, was pursuing first year diploma in education (DEd) course in the government girls teachers training school here.

Pradeep Poojary, resident of Kunhalithota in Palimar, had studied till pre-university in Palimar, before beginning to work on providing mosaic flooring in construction sector. The police department claims that he had left behind a written note addressed to his father before abandoning his house, in which he confessed to have committed some mistake, and pledging never to return home. It is said that before leaving his home, he withdrew Rs 3,000 from his account by using the ATM card, and handed over this amount to his mother. His purse, ATM card, cell phone, and other belongings were also left behind by him at home, it is learnt.

Kaup police circle inspector, Sunil Nayak, Padubidri station house officer, Azmat Ali, and other staff have taken up investigation in the case. The first task they have set for themselves is to locate the whereabouts of Pradeep Poojary. Some local expert divers have been extending support to tbe police in searching for Poojary's body in water bodies around the region to make sure that Poojary had not committed suicide by jumping into one of them.