BELAGAVI: Thimma, a member of the notorious Dandupalya gang serving capital punishment at Hindalga jail for 10 years now, will be released soon.
Karnataka High Court has ordered the government to release him as he was under-aged when arrested.
Thimma was 15-years-old when he was arrested by the police on October 9, 1999. He and his gang members were arrested in Mysuru and served eight years of jail term in Mysuru. After the capital punishment verdict, they were shifted to Hindalga jail.
As the birth certificate which his parents issued to a school showed his date of birth as August 16, 1983,
the court noticed he was 15 years old when arrested for brutal murders committed by his gang.
The court ordered the government to release him as he has already served 18 years of imprisonment.
Modus operandi
The Dandupalya gang, which included several women, murdered about a dozen people. The gang used to identify people living alone, approach people asking for water, slit their neck and rob the house.
A division bench comprising Justice B S Patil and Justice B V Nagarathna passed an order through a
video conference from Dharwad and Kalaburagi respectively directing the release of Thimma.