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Mangaluru, July 2: Two sisters who were found holding their hands were among the six persons killed in landslides in Uttara Kannada and Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka, police said on Tuesday.

Four members of a family were killed after a portion of a hill collapsed on their house at Muttalli of Bhatkal taluk in Uttara Kannada district, police sources said. 

In another heart-wrenching incident reported from Subramanya in Dakshina Kannada district, the mortal remains of two sisters were found holding their hands together as a portion of a hill collapsed on their house.

The bodies of the siblings were removed after a long rescue operation. Shruthi (aged 11) and Jnanashree (6), daughters of Kusumadhar, lost their lives in the tragedy on Monday.

Heavy rains were lashing Subramanya from the evening of Monday. Around 7 pm, a loud noise was heard.

Shruthi who was reading a book in the portico of the house, ran inside thinking the sound must have come from there. Jnanashree also ran inside the house.

At the same time, the hill collapsed on their home. The children's mother, who was busy in the kitchen, came outside the house, thinking that the children must be outside. As a tree fell on the way and water was overflowing, rescue personnel could not reach the spot immediately. The rain also hampered the operation, police sources said.

Udupi, Aug 9: The Supreme Court of India has disapproved categorically the practice of considering evidence while granting bail, or suspending a sentence, while expunging the observations made by the Karnataka High Court while granting bail to the woman who was convicted of murdering her husband, Bhaskar Shetty, a businessman from Udupi. 

The murder, when it came to light, had made headlines across the country.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and P S Narasimha agreed with the contention, made by advocate Sanjay M Nuli on behalf of the victim’s mother Gulabi Shetty, that the High Court went into the issues of the validity of the ‘Will’, which was completely unrelated to the proceedings before it.

“The High Court has grossly erred in granting suspension of sentence in such a serious crime,” Nuli argued, contending that the high court went on to decide the matter as if it was deciding an appeal.

Concurring with his contention, the bench said: “We are in full agreement with the counsel for the petitioner that the High Court has totally erred in making an elaborate discussion of the evidence. This Court has time and again observed that courts should avoid elaborate appreciation of the evidence at the stage of grant of bail.”

The bench also observed that it was “totally unwarranted” of the high court “to have made a detailed elaboration of an evidence” while granting bail.

“We, therefore, expunge all the observations made by the High Court wherever it has re-appreciated the evidence in detail and clarify that the order would be construed as a prima facie consideration of the evidence for grant of suspension of sentence,” the bench said.

The apex court, however, also said it did not find anything wrong in allowing the application filed by the convict Rajeshwari Shetty, for suspension of her sentence, as the case was based on circumstantial evidence.

The top court also directed the high court's bench, which would hear the appeal on merits, not to take into consideration any of the observations the lower court made in its order on December 23, 2021.

It also requested the high court to expedite the hearing of the appeal.

“In case the petitioner does not cooperate with expeditious disposal of the matter, the High Court would be at liberty to take appropriate steps,” the Supreme Court ruled.

The trial court, on June 8, 2021, had convicted the victim’s wife Rajeshwari, their son, and the wife's alleged paramour for murdering Bhaskar Shetty, who ran a business in Saudi Arabia and owned a hotel in Udupi, and burning his body in a “homa kund” in 2016, and sentenced the three to life imprisonment.

The prosecution claimed that Rajeshwari, along with her 20-year-old son Navneet, threw chili powder into her husband’s eyes and assaulted him with a rod. Thereafter, the two tied the victim’s hands and feet, and poisoned him. Later, they carried the body to another location and burnt it by organising a ‘yagna’. To further destroy the evidence, they threw the bones and remains into a river.

Bhaskar suspected Rajeshwari of adultery and had lodged a police complaint with Manipal police station on July 9, 2016; he was murdered on July 28. The police unearthed the murder while acting upon a missing person’s complaint filed by Gulabi.

The prosecution relied upon a DNA report to conclude the recovered body parts were that of the complainant’s son.

Mangaluru: Normalcy has returned to the coastal district of Dakshina Kannada which had witnessed communal tensions after three coldblooded murders last month. 

Deputy Commissioner Dr Rajendra KV has lifted the restrictions imposed on shops including liquor shops in the wake of peace prevailing in the district in the past few days.

In the wake of murders in the district, the DC had promulgated prohibitory orders under Section 144 in the district and restrictions were imposed on shops and establishments.

Initially, shops and establishments were directed to close between 6pm and 6am. Later, the district administration relaxed restrictions allowing shops and establishments to function till 9pm.

"We have been observing improvement of peace and public order in the district. Hence, following decisions are made. All the shops including liquor shops can function as usual as all the restrictions of shop closure are taken out. Meanwhile, the CrPC 144 will be continued till August 14 midnight prohibiting congregation of more than five people and display of weapons in the district," he said adding that the Commissioner of police will be issuing an order for city police commissionerate limits.

On movement of vehicles during night, the DC said there are no restrictions as such. However, he advised people to avoid unnecessary movements during the night.