Shobhita death case: CID team visits her village in Belthangady

September 7, 2015

Belthangady, Sep 7: A Crime Investigation Department (CID) team has begun to probe the suspicious death of 20-year-old Shobhita in Belalu village in Belthangady taluk a year ago.

The investigation team led by M Prabhushankar arrived in Belthangady from Bengaluru on Saturday and collected facts and information on the case from Belthangady police station. On Sunday, the team arrived at Belalu village and visited Shobitha's home to collect additional information from her parents and family. Thereafter, they also visited the scene of crime and collected information from the locals.

The investigating team informed that the primary information on the case had been collected from the police department in the first phase of investigation. Based on some of the facts collected from the locals on the case, the next course of action will be taken during the investigation, they said.

A second year degree student at Government Degree College in Punjalkatte, Shobitha returned home from college on July 27 last year, and had been to the neighbour's house around 6.30 p.m. to watch television. But only a few minutes later, she was found dead in a nearby well.

Although Belthangady police investigated the case subsequently, no clues were found which could help solve the mysterious death. They had come forward to rule out the case as a possible suicide.

However, the locals and family members argued that Shobitha was a student with good grades and honest character, and had no motive for taking her own life. Hence, suspecting foul play in her death, the villagers pressed for proper legal action by submitting a memorandum in this regard to local MLA Vasanth Bangera.

The case was handed over to the CID by the government as per the demand of locals and elected representatives.

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Mangaluru’s ₹1,200 crore fix: Massive sewage overhaul to end city’s drainage woes

News Network

December 19,2025

Mangaluru: In a decisive move to tackle the city’s deteriorating sanitation infrastructure, the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has announced a massive ₹1,200 crore action plan to overhaul its underground drainage (UGD) network.

The initiative, spearheaded by Deputy Commissioner and MCC Administrator Darshan HV, aims to bridge "missing links" in the current system that have left residents grappling with overflowing sewage and environmental hazards.

The Breaking Point

The announcement follows a high-intensity phone-in session on Thursday, where the DC was flooded with grievances from frustrated citizens. Residents, including Savithri from Yekkur, described a harrowing reality: raw sewage from apartments leaking into stormwater drains, creating a "permanent stink" and turning residential zones into mosquito breeding grounds.

"We are facing immense difficulties due to the stench and the health risks. Local officials have remained silent until now," one resident reported during the session.

The Strategy: A Six-Year Vision

DC Darshan HV confirmed that the proposed plan is not a temporary patch but a comprehensive six-year roadmap designed to accommodate Mangaluru’s projected population growth. Key highlights of the plan include:

• Infrastructure Expansion: Laying additional pipelines to connect older neighborhoods to the main grid.

• STP Crackdown: Stricter enforcement of Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) regulations. While new apartments are required to have functional STPs, many older buildings lack them entirely, and several newer units are reportedly non-functional.

• Budgetary Push: The plan has already been discussed with the district in-charge minister and the Secretary of the Urban Development Department. It is slated for formal presentation in the upcoming state budget.

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