Udupi: Judge Chandrashekhar M Joshi of the district chief and sessions court here has held all the four accused in the barbaric murder case of an under-trial named Vinod Shettigar inside the district jail at Hiriyadka in the district on January 14, 2011 guilty of murder.
Altogether 6 persons were accused of the grotesque crime of whom, Muttappa (36), Nagaraja Balegar (33) and Sheikh Riaz Ahmed (33) all from Baikady, Brahmava, and Sharanappa Amarapur (33) from Agoli in Gangavathi have been found guilty. The Court exonerated Raghavendra (35) from Kukkikatte Indiranagar, another accused in the crime. The final accused and mastermind of the crime Pitty Nagesh, was murdered when out on bail..
Murdered using knives
The four accused, who were already incarcerated in connection to their crimes used to manhandle other inmates of the jail. This was objected by Vinod Shettigar. This in turn had led to a fight within the jail. On Jan 14
th 2011 at around 8 am in the morning, Vinod who was sitting outside the 1
st barracks of the prison was attacked by with knives by the accused. The staffs that came to stop this were also attacked. The attack killed Vinod on the spot. The then Brahmavar police Inspector Krishna Murthy investigated the case and submitted the charge sheet to the court.
The First District and Sessions Court Judge C M Joshi found the accused guilty of their crimes. The quantum of punishment would be pronounced on Thursday March 28. Public prosecutor Shantibai argued on behalf of the prosecution.
Three knives found in the lavatory
A day before the murder, an accused was produced in Karkala Court. On that occasion, 3 knives were planted in the lavatory as decided. While coming back from the court, the accused successfully smuggled the knives into the jail while the jail staff failed to notice it. On that very night, the accused planned the murder.
