Mangaluru: Man gets life sentence for killing 82-year-old relative

Mangaluru, Nov 10: Nearly a decade after an octogenarian woman was bludgeoned to death at Ganjimath in Mangaluru taluk a local court found one of her relatives guilty of crime and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

The convict Narayana Gowda (then 47) had murdered his relative Kalyani (then 82) on December 2, 2007. A case was registered in Bajpe police station. Narayana, hailing from Mundevu House in Ganjimath was doing odd jobs at Maha Ganapathy Temple at Ganjimath, where Kalyani worked as a labourer.

Narayana used to pester Kalyani for lunch on many occasions and she would provide it to him, but not before berating and advising him to be more responsible and look out for a steady job. The constant berating did not apparently go down well with the convict.

On the fateful day, Kalyani's daughter Nagaveni heard her mother's screams from near the cowshed of their house and rushed there with others, only to see Narayana flee the scene leaving behind a profusely bleeding Kalyani. Although she was immediately shifted to a private hospital in the city for treatment, she was declared brought dead. The public prosecutor Harishchandra Udiawar who conducted the case, examined 17 witnesses during the trial.

The court also dismissed a plea of mental illness that the accused sought to seek refuge under to escape the trial. He was referred to the Dharwad Institute of Mental Health And Neurosciences from February 12, 2008 to June 2, 2008.

The doctor who treated him while deposing before the court observed that while Narayana did suffer from low IQ, however, was not suffering from any mental illness and was fit to stand trial. The court took note of the same to initiate trial against Narayana.

Public prosecutor Judith O M Crasta who conducted the hearings into sentencing on Tuesday in Harishchandra's absence, said the judge announced the quantum on Wednesday.

Accordingly, the accused has been directed to pay a fine of Rs 5,000 or undergo further imprisonment of six months in case of default. The judge offset the period of incarceration that the accused has already undergone from his sentence. He has been in judicial custody since the date of offence.

The judge also directed the DK District Legal Services Authority to pay compensation to next of kin of victim under Karnataka Victim Compensation Scheme.