BENGALURU: The Special Court in Bengaluru acquitted suspected maoist BG Krishnamurthy and former Naxal leader Neelguli Padmanabha, as the prosecution failed to prove the involvement of the two, in the murder of KG Venkatesh at Gandagatta village, Sringeri taluk in 2007.
It is said that Venkatesh’s murder was an alleged act of revenge, for causing the death of a naxalite, Dinakar, in a police encounter near Kerumudi.
Judge Gangadhara CM, Special Court for NIA cases, passed the order on Monday, acquitting Krishnamurthy, accused No 1, and Neelguli Padmanabha, accused No 5, and noted that only police witnesses supported the prosecution’s case.
Even the evidence of those witnesses is also not sufficient to prove the presence of the accused at the time of the incident, or their involvement in the said crime. Hence, there is no evidence to show that they committed any act as alleged by the prosecution. In the absence of any material in support of the allegations, it cannot be said that they have committed the offence, the court noted.
On the allegations that the accused formed an unlawful assembly to commit an offence under Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, by shouting anti-government slogans and assisting the naxals in anti-social activities, the court said that the eyewitnesses of the incident have not supported the prosecution’s case to prove these allegations either, and the son of the deceased supported the prosecution, but denied the presence of the accused at the time of the murder.
According to the complainant Madhura, wife of the deceased, on the evening of June 3, 2007, four unknown people came to their shop, dragged Venkatesh out, assaulted him, and disconnected the telephone line.
They took away grocery items along with cash and a mobile phone. Threatening her at gunpoint, out of the four, three fired at Venkatesh’s head and chest, and cut his torso with a sword, on the instruction of another person.