Karnataka: Man sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering elderly couple, robbing their house

Mangaluru: The Second Additional District and Sessions court judge Preethi K P sentenced a man to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of murdering an elderly couple and decamping with valuables, at Kalerikal in Kakkinje of Charmadi village of Belthangady.

Special public prosecutor Jyothi Pramod Nayak said that the convict is Raju Kallavaddar alias Rajesh alias Raju Kalla Vaddar from Gadag district. He along with his wife and child had arrived Banjarumale along with other labourers to complete the work on a dam in December 2015.

On the fateful night of January 10, 2016, he approached the house of an elderly couple, Varkey K V (85) and Elikutty (80), under the pretext of asking for water. Gaining their trust, he pretended to seek directions, and Varkey, carrying a torch, accompanied him outside the house. Raju attacked Varkey with a wooden club , severely injuring him. He then used the victim’s lungi to strangle him to death. Subsequently, the accused entered the house, where he attacked and murdered Elikutty using the same method. After the murders, the accused looted the house, breaking open cupboards and stealing 25 sovereigns of gold and cash, total worth approximately Rs 4,50,000. The Belthangady police, under then-DySP Rahul Kumar, initially investigated the case and arrested the accused. The stolen items were partially recovered. Further investigation was carried out by DySP Bhaskar Rai NG, who examined 51 witnesses and filed a charge sheet under IPC Sections 302 (murder) and 392 (robbery) in court.

Trial began on November 13, 2018. Initially, former public prosecutor Shekhar Shetty examined a few witnesses. From 2021, the remaining witnesses were examined by public prosecutor Jyoti Pramod Nayak, who also presented final arguments.

A total of 38 witnesses testified for the prosecution. Judge Preethi sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment under IPC section 392, and slapped a fin of Rs 10,000. He was asked to undergo additional three months of rigorous imprisonment for failing to pay fine.

The judge pronounced life imprisonment under Section 302 of IPC and slapped a fine of Rs 10,000. The court acknowledged the period of judicial custody since the arrest of the accused and adjusted it against the 10-year sentence under IPC Section 392. The remaining duration of imprisonment will now be served accordingly.

Raju Kallavaddar, also known as Rajesh, has a long history of criminal activities, including house burglaries reported in Hubballi, Dharwad, Haveri, and Gadag districts. During the trial of the case, the accused attempted to escape police custody, leading to a separate case being registered in Ankola, for which he has also been convicted and sentenced.

The special public prosecutor said that fingerprint on a Vicks VapoRub container found on the shelf of the victim’s house helped the police in identifying and arresting the accused. during the analysis of the fingerprint, it matched with that of Raju which was available with the police MOB data.