The police have filed a 400-page charge sheet in connection with the death of two artists on November 7, 2016 while filming the climax of Kannada movie Mastigudi in Thippagondahalli reservoir.
The charge sheet contains the names of Sundar P. Gowda (producer), Nagashekhar (director), Siddarth (assistant director), Ravi Verma (stunt director), Bharath (unit manager) and Prakash Biradar, who was flying the helicopter from which the duo jumped into the reservoir.
They have been booked for negligence leading to the death of Anil Kumar (37) and Raghavendra Uday (31), who were playing the role of villains.
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‘Duniya’ Vijay, who is playing the lead role, had also jumped into the water from the helicopter along with the two victims, but was rescued. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team recovered the bodies of the victims after 48 hours.
The investigation revealed that Uday and Anil jumped before ‘Duniya’ Vijay. Vijay was the only one wearing a life jacket. Uday and Anil did not know to swim. The diesel boat, which was on stand-by in case of any untoward incident, failed to start. By the time a small manually rowed boat reached the spot, Uday and Anil had drowned while Vijay had managed to stay afloat due to the life jacket.
Police recorded the statements of over 70 persons, including ‘Duniya’ Vijay, officials of Thippagondahalli reservoir, BWSSB officials and the team that was involved in the rescue effort.
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Based on a complaint filed by Assistant Executive Engineer of Thippagondahalli reservoir, the Taverekere police registered a case under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and arrested the six persons who were later released on bail.
If convicted, they face imprisonment up to 10 years or a fine, or both.