Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Kundapur
Kundapur, Sep 13: The additional district and sessions court here on Wednesday September 13 convicted a man in a murder case that took place in February 2015, and awarded him life imprisonment.
Sharat Poojary (35), a resident of Kota, has been found guilty of murdering his friend and neighbour Vijay Karanth in February 2015 as he suspected Vijay of having an illicit affair with his wife.
Vijay was found lying unconcious under mysterious circumstances on the road opposite his house on the afternoon of February 2, 2015. He was taken to a hospital in Brahmavar where he was declared dead. It was initially suspected that he might have died of excessive drinking. At the time, Sharat and his family had even claimed that he had died of illness. However, stab marks were found on his body and after investigation, Sharat was arrested in the case.
Sharat Poojary (L) and Vijay Karanth
During the investigation, it emerged that Sharat had killed Vijay as he suspected him of having an affair with his wife. He had warned Vijay several times, but the latter did not pay heed and continued to visit Sharat's house. Fearing that his reputation was at stake, Sharat stabbed Vijay to death on the afternoon of February 2, 2015.
The then circle inspector of Brahmavar Arun B Nayak conducted the investigation and 18 witnesses were produced in the court. After hearing the statements of witnesses and taking evidence into consideration, judge Prakash K pronounced Sharat guilty of the crime and sentenced him to life imprisonment, besides imposing a penalty of Rs 40,000.
Sharat was also found guilty of destroying evidence in the case, for which he was sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment and ordered to pay Rs 10,000 as fine.
Advocate Srinivas Hegde was the public prosecutor in the case initially. He was succeeded by advocate Harishchandra Udyavar.