4 undertrials get life term for cellmate’s murder

Four undertrials declared guilty of murdering their cellmate Vinod Shettigar inside the Hiriyadka jail were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Principal District and Sessions Judge C M Joshi on Thursday.

Mutthappa alias Suresh Balegar (36), his brother Nagaraj Balegar (33) of Bykadi near Brahmavara, Sheik Riyaz Ahmed (33) of Mysuru and Sharanappa (33) of Koppal had murdered an undertrial Vinod Shettigar inside the Hiriyadka jail on the morning of January 14, 2011.

They had stabbed Vinod when the latter was reportedly reading a newspaper inside the jail. Shettigar was stabbed repeatedly and died of multiple injuries, organ failure and excessive bleeding. Police arrested Muthappa, Sharanappa, Nagaraj, and Sheikh Riyaz Ahmed.

During the investigation, the accused undertrials stated that they had murdered Shettigar because they were unable ‘to face harassment by him’.

They confessed that when Shettigar’s harassment became unbearable, the four convicts decided to murder him. Another accused in the Shettigar murder case, Raghavendra of Kukkikatte was acquitted by the court.

Another accused Pitty Nagesh, a notorious rowdy-sheeter was murdered near Udyavar in 2014.

Principal District and Sessions Judge C M Joshi dismissed their plea for leniency and upheld the arguments of Public Prosecutor Shantibai and declared them guilty on Wednesday. The sentencing was done on Thursday.