Bhaskar Shetty murder: SC seeks state’s reply to accused’s bail plea

Bhaskar Shetty murder: SC seeks state’s reply to accused’s bail plea

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Mar 20, 2018: The Supreme Court on March 18, Monday asked the Karnataka government to respond to a bail plea moved by a woman, who was accused of killing her businessman-husband Bhaskar Shetty in Udupi district in 2016 and burning his body in a ‘homa kunda’ with the help of a priest, suspected to be her paramour.

 

A bench of Justices S A Bobde and L Nageswara Rao issued notice to the state government after senior advocate Basava Prabhu Patil, appearing for petitioner Rajeswari Shetty, contended that 52-year-old woman was in jail for more than one-and-half years and the investigation has been complete with the filing of supplementary chargesheet.

Advocate Aristotle Joseph, representing the state government, contended that the petititioner, at every stage, had tried to hinder the trial. She had even questioned the appointment of M Shantharam Shetty as special public prosecutor.

The court, however, asked the state counsel to file an  affidavit to her petition and put the matter for consideration after two weeks.

In her plea, Rajeshwari, among others, contended that there was no direct evidence in the matter and she has been roped in as accused only on the basis of DNA test.

The top court had earlier on August 10, 2017, refused to release her on bail as the state government contended that the investigation was still on. It had, however, granted her liberty to renew her plea after six months.

According to prosecution, Rajeswari, along with her 20-year-old son, Navneet Shetty threw chilly powder into Bhasker Shetty’s eyes and assaulted him with a rod. Thereafter, the accused tied the victim’s hands and feet and poisoned him. Later, they carried the victim’s body to Niranjan Bhat’s home and burnt it by organising a ‘Yagna’. Further, to destroy the evidence, the bones and body parts of Bhaskar Shetty were thrown in a river.

The victim suspected fidelity of his wife and had lodged a police complaint in the Manipal police station on July 9, 2016 before his murder on July 28, 2016.

The police acted on complaint filed by victim’s mother Gulabi as he went missing. The prosecution relied upon a DNA report to conclude that the recovered body parts were of her son.