Mangaluru: Two sentenced to life for black magic murder of 3-year-old girl

[email protected] (CD Network)
April 1, 2016

Mangaluru, Apr 1: Nearly six years after a three-year-old girl was murdered in a black magic ritual in the city, a District and Sessions Court has sentenced an elderly man and his suspected foster daughter to life imprisonment.

blackmagic

Pronouncing the order Bhavani Nerale Veerabhadraiah, the judge of IV Additional District and Sessions court, Mangaluru, sentenced Kamalaksha Purusha (79) and Chandrakala (33), both residents of Kampadakody near Yeyyadi, here. The convicts were also sentenced to three years imprisonment for the offence of destroying evidence.

On December 17, 2010, the body of Priyanka, daughter of Firan Kumar Jha and Anjali Devi, a poor couple, was found with burns in the areca-nut garden of Kamalaksha Purusha at Yeyyadi. The girl had gone missing since December 16 afternoon from her parents' rented residence owned by Kamalaksha Purusha's brother.

Chandrakala had befriended Priyanka and used to take the girl to her residence in the neighbourhood frequently. Jha, a native of Madhubani district in Bihar, worked with an electronics retailer in Bengaluru for over two decades before being sent to the retailer's Mangaluru showroom.

After Chandrakala took Priyanka home in the afternoon of December 16, 2010, the girl did not return and a search launched by her parents was futile. The next day, the girl's body was found in the plantation of Kamalaksha Purusha. The post-mortem report said that the child was strangled to death after she had been doused with boiling water.

Though there was no eyewitness to the incident, neighbours told the police that the family of Kamalaksha Purusha was engaged in sorcery for materialistic gains. There were people who had seen Chandrakala taking the girl to her house, they said.

Prosecutors Harishchandra Udyawar and Pushparaj Adyantaya examined 18 witnesses during trial. While the then Mangaluru East Police Inspector Niranjan Urs initially investigated the case, Assistant Commissioner of Police Raveendra K. Gadadi filed the charge sheet before court.

Considering the circumstantial evidence, the judge convicted the two for offences under Sections 302 (murder) and 201 (destroying of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code. While Kamalaksha Purusha was directed to pay fine of Rs. 60,000, Chandrakala was asked to pay Rs. 20,000 for the two offences.

A sum of Rs. 10,000 out of the total fine has to be paid to the government while the balance is to be paid to the deceased girl's parents. The court has also directed the District Legal Services Authority to pay compensation under the Karnataka Victim Compensation Scheme to the parents.

The then Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa had released Rs. 2 lakh compensation to the family of Priyanka through the district administration.

Comments

Aakhash
 - 
Friday, 1 Apr 2016

Instead of making un necessary issues like Bharath Maathaa Ki Jai., RSS should concentrate to address the people to come out from these types of ugly practice in the community.

Meenakshi Rao
 - 
Friday, 1 Apr 2016

This is ridiculous,..murderers should be murdered as same like they killed that innocent girl.

Karan
 - 
Friday, 1 Apr 2016

who knows this may not be the first time they killed, which has came to light.

Deepika
 - 
Friday, 1 Apr 2016

Ghostly act by these two, dont want to c their face , coastaldiget please blur their face, felt like watching some horror movie.

Mohan
 - 
Friday, 1 Apr 2016

Planet SKS land belongs to him, builder succeed.

Priyanka
 - 
Friday, 1 Apr 2016

syco path in mangalore, both should be hanged.

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News Network
December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A 34-year-old fruit and vegetable trader in Mangaluru has reportedly lost ₹33.1 lakh after falling victim to an online investment scam run through a fake mobile app.

Police said the scam began in September, when the victim received a link on Facebook. Clicking it connected him to a WhatsApp number, where an unidentified person introduced a high-return investment scheme and instructed him to download an app.

To build trust, the fraudster asked him to invest ₹30,000 on September 24. The trader soon received ₹34,000 as “profit,” convincing him the scheme was genuine. Over the next two months, he transferred money in multiple instalments via Google Pay and IMPS to different scanner codes and bank accounts shared by the scammers. Between September 24 and December 3, he ended up sending a total of ₹33.1 lakh.

When he later requested a refund of his investment and promised returns, the scammers demanded additional payments, claiming he needed to pay a “service tax” first. Even after he paid a small amount, no money was returned, and the scammers continued pressuring him for more.

A case has been registered at the CEN Crime Police Station.

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News Network
December 16,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 16: The Mangaluru City police have significantly escalated their campaign against drug trafficking, arresting 25 individuals and booking 12 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act between November 30 and December 13. The crackdown resulted in the seizure of a substantial quantity of illicit substances, including 685.6 grams of MDMA and 1.5 kg of ganja.

The success of this recent drive has been significantly boosted by the city’s innovative, QR code-based anonymous reporting system.

"The anonymous reporting system has received an encouraging response. Several recent arrests were made based on inputs received through this system, helping police tighten the noose around drug peddlers," said the City Police Commissioner.

The latest arrests contribute to a robust year-to-date record, underscoring the police's relentless commitment to combating the drug menace.

Up to December 14 this year, the police have registered a total of 107 cases of drug peddling, leading to the arrest of 219 peddlers. Furthermore, they have booked 562 cases of drug consumption, resulting in the arrest of 671 individuals.

The scale of the seizure for the year reflects the magnitude of the problem being tackled: police have seized 320.6 kg of ganja worth ₹88.7 lakh and 1.4 kg of MDMA valued at ₹1.2 crore. Other significant seizures include hydro-weed ganja worth ₹94.7 lakh and cocaine worth ₹1.9 lakh, among others.

The Commissioner emphasized a policy of rigorous enforcement: "We ensure that peddlers are caught red-handed so that they cannot later dispute the case or claim innocence."

To counter the rising trend of substance abuse among youth, the Mangaluru City police have rolled out uniform guidelines for random drug testing across educational institutions.

As part of the drive, tests were conducted in approximately 100 institutions, screening an estimated 5,500 to 6,000 students in the first phase. 20 students tested positive for drug consumption during the initial screening.

Students who tested positive have been provided counselling and are scheduled for re-testing in the second quarter. The testing will also be expanded to students not covered in the first phase. In a move to ensure strict implementation, police personnel were deployed in mufti in some institutions. Reiterating a zero-tolerance stance, the Commissioner confirmed that random testing will continue, and colleges have also been instructed to conduct drug tests at the time of admission to deter substance abuse from an early stage.

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News Network
December 15,2025

Mangaluru police have arrested a 27-year-old NRI on his return from Saudi Arabia in connection with an Instagram post allegedly containing derogatory and provocative remarks about the Hindu religion, officials said on Monday.

The accused, Abdul Khader Nehad, a resident of Ulaibettu in Mangaluru, was working in Saudi Arabia when the post was uploaded, police said.

A suo motu case was registered at the Bajpe police station on October 11 after an allegedly offensive post circulated from the Instagram account ‘team_sdpi_2025’. Police said the content was flagged for being provocative and derogatory in nature.

During the investigation, technical analysis traced the Instagram post to Nehad, who was residing abroad at the time, a senior police officer said. Based on these findings, a Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued against him.

On December 14, Nehad arrived from Saudi Arabia at Calicut International Airport in Kerala, where he was taken into custody on arrival. Police said further investigation is underway.

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