Haruvanahalli Maruti, his father Somegowda, Dyapalapura Jayaram, Keerthi, Gangadhar, Jayanna and Soppinahalli Rangaswamy were acquitted as the prosecution failed to prove murder charge. Two accused Somanahalli Jayanna and A H Kumara are absconding.

After the murder of City Municipal Council member Girijashankar and Jayaprakash on October 3, 2004, nearly 80 houses were torched in Dyapalapura village sending shocking waves in the state. During the course of the hearing, Sarojanna and Shivamma, who were eye-witnesses, had turned hostile.

In the case, of the 64 witnesses, 58 deposed before the court. Of them, 25 could not provide any substantial information for the prosecution.

The police had presented weapons used in the crime and claimed that they bore blood marks. However, the same was not substantiated by the forensic laboratory tests.