10 held in Slum Manja murder case; five at large

The city police have been successful in nabbing ten persons, including prime accused K M Ravikumar (Child Ravi), involved in the brutal murder of Slum Manja, at Sahyadri Circle in Hassan, on December 27.

Addressing a press meet in Hassan, on Wednesday, SP Ravi D Channanavar said police had spread a net to nab five others involved in the case. Those arrested so far are Karthik, Mahesh, Yogesh, Rathif, Raja, Prakash, Ramakrishna, Ismail and Ravi.

Ashok, Bulli Chetu, Guddenahalli Chetu, Gagan and Angadi Shivu are absconding, and will be traced soon, he added.

The SP said that the whole incident was recorded on a CCTV camera. The accused had allegedly hatched a plan and had come equipped with lethal weapons.

There were frequent fights between Ravi and Manja. They had also fought during the Kannada Rajyotsava celebrations a few days before the murder. Old enmity was the reason behind the murder, the SP said.

The accused had discarded the blood stained clothes and weapons at Yagachi lake after the murder, and had escaped to Mangaluru.

Later, they went to Mandya and from there to Bengaluru, where they stayed at the house of their friend Udduru Ravi. They were arrested near Channarayapatna on their return to Hassan, the SP added.

He also clarified that Kannada Kaval Pade district unit president Naveen had no connection with the murder as alleged before. Naveen had arrived on the spot and shifted bleeding Manja to the hospital.

Woman murdered
A woman had to pay with her life, when she allegedly tried to stop a fight between her neighbours, at Shiradahalli coming under Heggade gram panchayat limits, in Sakleshpur taluk, Hassan district, on Tuesday. The deceased is Somibai (50).

She belongs to the Lambani community, and hails from Kirehalli in Gadag district. She is said to have been working in a coffee plantation since the past two months and was staying in a line house near the farm, with four other families.

On Tuesday, her neighbours, Reshma and Lakshmi of the same family, allegedly started quarelling, following a petty fight between their children. Tempers flared and both the men and  women of the family started assaulting each other.

At this juncture, Somibai tried to intervene and separate them, in an effort to bring the situation under control. Unfortunately, a wooden log swung by one of the family members Shekar, hit her on the head, leaving her seriously injured in the head.

She eventually succumbed to heavy loss of blood. Rural plice have registered a case and arrested Shekar and Reshma.
DH News Service