BENGALURU: A five-year-old girl, a sole eyewitness to the brutal killing of her mother by her father, ensured that he was sentenced to life imprisonment by a city civil and sessions court.
The convicted, Raviraj Shetty, who is now 42 years old, was working as an import executive at a cargo company at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). The minor daughter was studying LKG when the incident took place in 2016. Shetty killed his wife by stabbing her 22 times in front of the girl, who deposed boldly before the court, leading to Shetty’s conviction. The order was passed by 45th Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge Mohammed Mohinuddin.
Public Prosecutor K S Latha argued on behalf of the prosecution.
According to the prosecution, Shetty, who hailed from Moodubagge village in Kundapura taluk of Udupi district, married Supreetha in 2010. The family stayed near Halasuru. The couple used to quarrel regularly over minor issues. On September 14, 2016, when Shetty returned from work, his wife was putting their daughter to sleep. He asked Supreetha twice to serve him food and she replied that he has to wait. An angry Shetty then dragged his wife by her hair to the hall and slapped her. When she hit him back, he dragged her to the kitchen, took a knife and stabbed her 22 times on her back and neck. She collapsed on the floor and died in a pool of blood. The daughter was the sole eyewitness to the incident.
Soon after committing the murder, Shetty called his relatives and told them that Supreetha had ended her life by slitting her throat.
In July 2022, the daughter, who was 11 years old then, recorded her statement in the court. She identified her father, who was produced from the prison through the video conference, as the murderer. She told the court that she acted as if she was asleep out of fear and later narrated the entire incident to the police.
During the cross-examination by the defence counsel, the girl denied that she had been tutored by her family members to depose against her father and stuck to the statement she had made to the police.
Shetty told the police that he and Supreetha had compatibility issues and alleged that she was not taking care of him. He said she had assaulted him and he was waiting for an opportunity. Halasuru Police Inspector Subramanya filed the chargesheet along with the statement of the girl and scientific evidence.