Balakrishna Poojary, a Manager of an institution attached to Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala, has been arrested for murder on Thursday after his car ran over and killed motorcyclist Dinesh Kumar (23) in Payyur near Belthangady on Wednesday.
Mr. Kumar used to participate in a series of demonstrations in support of the family of the 17-year-old girl student, who was raped and killed near Dharmasthala last year.
After a detailed inquiry, the Belthangady police produced Mr. Poojary before the jurisdictional magistrate in the court, who remanded him to judicial custody for two weeks.
In the court, however, Mr. Kumar’s father Babigowda told the Magistrate that his son’s death was a case of road accident and not murder. The court recorded his statement. The murder complaint was filed by Mr. Kumar’s uncle on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, there was massive demonstration accusing Mr. Poojary of tampering with evidence at the place of accident. Protesters threw stones at an ambulance and a vehicle of a BJP activist, who had come to pacify protesters. The police have registered separate cases for the damage of the vehicles.
Bus passengers injured
As many as eight bus passengers sustained injuries after the vehicle hit a lorry near Kuntikana Junction on Thursday. While five were admitted, three injured persons were treated as out-patients.
The Mangalore East Traffic police said the accident happened when the bus, belonging to Durgamba Travels, was trying to overtake the truck around 3 p.m. Both the vehicles were coming towards the city. An injured person filed a complaint against bus driver Prakash, the police said.
Women found dead
A 34-year-old woman, suffering from stomach pain, was found dead near a lake in Goolikatte in Puttur Rural police station limits on Thursday. Police said Meenakshi had mentioned the reason in a note addressed to her husband Ravi. She left the house on Wednesday afternoon telling her son that she was going to bring medicines. Ravi, who returned from work Wednesday evening, found the note and started searching for his wife. He found her body near the lake, the police said.
Father killed, boy injured
A pedestrian was killed, while his seven-year-old son was injured when a bus hit them while crossing the road at Nittur here on Thursday. Udupi Traffic Police said a severely injured Lingappa (35) was taken to hospital but doctors declared him dead on arrival. His son Shankar (7), who suffered injuries to his head and face, was shifted to Hi-Tech Hospital. The driver of the private bus fled from the scene.
A case had been registered at the Udupi Traffic Police Station. Mr. Lingappa, a native of Koppal district, was working as a daily wager.
