Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (RJP)
Udupi, Jul 27: It is one year since NRI businessman and owner of Durga International Hotel here was murdered and his body was burnt to ashes in a Homa Kunda in Nandalike near Belman.
Five arrests were made subsequently. The murder case became sensational in the region, state and throughout the country after the involvement of wife and son was made known by the police in the murder.
The main accused arrested first were, Rajeshwari Shetty (50) and Navaneet Shetty (20), the wife and son of Bhaskar Shetty respectively and Niranjan Bhat (26), an astrologer. Niranjan’s father and assistant were arrested later.
As per the chargesheet, the first three accused murdered and burnt Bhaskar Shetty while Niranjan’s father Srinivasa Bhatand his assistant Raghavendra provided them help.
Happier times- Bhaskar Shetty with Rajeshwari and Navaneet
Rajeshwari and Navaneet
Niranjan Bhat
Srinivasa Bhat and Raghavendra
Three out of the five accused languish in jails while last two accused are out on bail.
What made the murder as one of the rarest in the region was, the involvement of wife and son in the murder and the way the dead body was burnt inhumanly in Homa Kunda. The Homa Kunda, where the body was burnt, was replaced with a new Homa Kunda. The ashes and remains of the body were disposed off in various rivers. It had become a challenging case for the police as they could not get any required lead for many days. They were also accused of delay and according special treatment to the accused.
The case started with missing complaint filed by Gulabi Shedthi, the mother of Bhaskar Shetty. Then it was discovered that Bhaskar Shetty was murdered.
It is believed that wife and son conspired to kill Bhaskar Shetty with the help of Niranjan Bhat as Shetty was planning to write a Will where he did not want to include his wife and son’s names.
The case saw some interesting twists when the transfer of investigation office S V Girish took place for allegedly favouring the accused and when the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) took over the case after pressure from many quarters. District in-charge minister Pramod Madhwaraj had also written a letter to the home minister to order CID probe.
CID which took over the case from police investigations officer Dr Sumana D P, collected more evidence relating to the murder and filed 1300 pages chargesheet.
CID had said that it would file additional chargesheet soon. But it is yet to be filed. No reasons have been given by CID for the delay.
Niranjan Bhat had applied for bail at state high court. The court on Wednesday rejected him the bail.