Man sentenced to life for wife’s murder

Mangaluru: Third additional district and sessions court judge, Sandhya S, sentenced a 64-year-old man to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife. Public prosecutor B Mohan Kumar said that the convict is Raja, a resident of Andyadka, Thodikana village of Sullia taluk. Raja strangled his wife, Kamala,57, to death following a fight at a shed where they were living in Koyyur village of Belthangady taluk on Sept 6, 2022.Raja and Kamala went to Koyyur in search of employment as rubber tappers at Dharnappa Gowda's estate. Along with the job, Gowda provided them accommodation in a shed within the rubber plantation. Raja, who was habitually intoxicated, would quarrel with his wife daily. On that fateful day at 5.30 pm, he initiated an argument with Kamala over an insignificant matter. The quarrel continued, and at 8 pm, Raja strangled Kamala to death, causing her to fall to the ground. Later, Raja punched Kamala's head and strangled her using a lungi, the public prosecutor said.Though it was a murder, initially, a case of unnatural death was reported at the Belthangady police station. In fact, the convict fabricated evidence to prove the murder as suicide. Based on a complaint filed by Dharnappa Gowda's son, Pramod, police registered a case as unnatural death. However, an autopsy conducted by Dr Varsha A Shetty of Justice KS Hegde Charitable Hospital, Deralakatte, revealed that the reason for Kamala's death was strangulation and not suicide. Accordingly, a case of murder under IPC Section 302 was registered against Raja on Sept 10, 2022, he said.Dr Varsha stated in her report that "the external compression of the neck by ligature strangulation" was the reason for Kamala's death. The doctor also made this submission in court. Despite having no eyewitnesses, the case was proved solely on the basis of medical evidence, Mohan Kumar said. Sub-inspector Nanda Kumar MM carried out the investigation initially, and inspector Shiva Kumar B submitted a chargesheet to the court.In addition to the life sentence, the court also imposed a penalty of Rs 15,000 on the convict. Meanwhile, the District Legal Services Authority has been directed to pay suitable compensation to Kamala's three children.

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