Six convicted in murder case in Belthangady

MANGALURU: First additional district and sessions court judge T P Ramalinge Gowda on Friday convicted six people in connection with the murder of a 30-year-old youth in Belthangady. Suresh Naik was murdered a day before his engagement on April 29, 2017. The hearing on the sentence is scheduled for July 28.
The convicts are Anand Naik, 39, Praveen Naik,39, Vinay Kumar,34, Prakash,35, and Nagaraj,43, from Belthangady and Lokesh,38, from Bantwal.
Public prosecutor B Shekhar Shetty, providing details of the case, said that Anand Naik was working for a temple, and claimed to be in love with a girl whom Suresh Naik was to marry.
The engagement ceremony of Suresh Naik was planned for April 30. With the help of five others, Anand conspired to kill Suresh Naik, a day before his engagement.
Despite being married, Anand Naik insisted on marrying the girl and requested her parents for her hand, and had even threatened Suresh Naik, and told him not to marry the girl. When Suresh Naik went to buy clothes for his fiancee on April 29, 2017, Vinay Kumar called him, saying that a loan under the Ganga Kalyana Scheme was available, and that he should come to Ujire to avail the same.
At 8.30 pm the accused strangled Suresh to death in a car on the Mundaje-Didupe Road .
Later in an isolated place on the Patrame-Dharmasthala road, they poured petrol on his body that was packed in a gunny bag, and set it on fire. They even burnt the belongings he was carrying near Keyyur village.
A case was filed at the Dharmasthala police station under IPC sections pertaining to murder, disappearance of evidence and criminal conspiracy, and the accused were arrested on May 4, 2017. Circle inspector Nagesh K investigated the case and filed a chargesheet.
The call detail records of Vinay Kumar and the DNA test reports were crucial evidence in the case. The court examined nearly 33 witnesses. Public prosecutors Raju Poojary Bannadi and B Shekar Shetty represented the state.