JOIN USUdupi police, led by Police Superintendent Lakshman Nimbargi, arrested five accused in connection with the murder of history-sheeter Naveen D'Souza.
Nimbargi said that the reason behind the murder was some money that was lent by D'Souza to the main accused, history-sheeter Kishen Hedge, who owns a hotel in Pune. D'Souza had reportedly threatened Hegde for not returning Rs 4 lakh. Fearing the worst, Hegde, lured four others and hatched a conspiracy to kill D'Souza.
All the five accused had been on the run until the police caught one of the accused, Mahesh Ganiga at Bappanadu on March 8. D'Souza was stabbed on the night of February 28 by four men who arrived in a car when the victim was about to leave on his bike after visiting a bar. He also had two men along with him as pillion riders. The car, which was being driven at a high speed, grazed past the motorbike thus pushing the three riders off the vehicle. There were five men in the car including the driver. Of the five, four came out with a sword and attacked D'Souza. Meanwhile, D'Souza's friends ran inside the bar for protection.
The other accused include Ramesh Poojary who worked as a collector in a private bus, Mohanchandra Shetty who worked as a labourer in a hotel and Nagaraj Poojary. Except for Nagaraj Poojary, all others have had criminal cases lodged against them.