Mandya JDS worker's murder: Karnataka High Court sentences five to life imprisonment

Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has sentenced five Congress workers from Mandya to life imprisonment for the murder of JDS worker Chikkaiah on January 6, 2011.

The trial court had acquitted all the accused in the case earlier. A division bench comprising Justices Sreenivas Harish Kumar and Umesh M Adiga reversed the acquittal order against five accused persons, while upholding the acquittal order of the remaining 10 accused.

The convicts are Y D Umesha (accused no 1), Atmananda (accused no 2), Shiva (accused no 6), V C Ranjit alias Punith (accused no 10) and V K Nandeesha (accused no 11), all residents of B Yatahalli village, Mandya taluk. The convicted have also been imposed with a fine Rs 50,000 each. Rs 2.25 lakh of the fine amount will go to the legal representatives of the deceased Chikkaiah, while the remaining Rs 25,000 will be defrayed towards prosecution expenses. The convicts have been directed to surrender before the trial court on or before November 4, 2024.

The prosecution case was that deceased Chikkaiah was a popular political leader in B Yarahalli village and the enmity developed between the JD(S) and Congress party workers during the Zilla and taluk panchayat elections held on December 31, 2010. After the JDS candidate was declared as winner on January 4, 2011, the accused hatched a plan to eliminate Chikkaiah.

Accordingly, on the morning of January 6, 2011, they attacked Chikkaiah as he came out of his house to go towards his Jaggery factory. The prosecution stated that Umesha assaulted Chikkaiah's head and face, Atmananda assaulted his face with a chopper while the three others assaulted Chikkaiah with clubs and caused grievous injuries. Chikkaiah succumbed to injuries on the spot.

The police had filed the charge sheet against 15 accused persons for murder, criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly and destruction of evidence. On July 26, 2017, the trial court had acquitted all the accused.

On the appeal by the Mandya Rural police, the division bench of the high court noted that the prosecution has proved that five accused persons have committed the murder due to political rivalry. “..the prosecution is able to prove that accused Nos. 1, 2, 6, 10 and 11 have committed the murder of Chikkaiah due to political rivalry. They had a common intention to commit the said offence, thereby the prosecution has proved that accused Nos.1, 2, 6, 10 and 11 have committed murder of Chikkaiah and committed an offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of IPC,” the bench said.