MANGALURU:“Karthik Raj murder case was politically motivated and blown out of proportion,’’ declares well- known advocate Udayananda A, after succeeding in his efforts to get the Sessions Court acquit Kavyashree of all charges including the conspiracy to murder her brother Karthik with help of her colleague Gautham Kayya and his brother Gaurav Kayya.
In the wee hours of October 22, 2016, Karthik Raj (26) was found lying on the road in a pool of blood. Karthik was shifted to a private hospital by cops attached to Konaje police station. He did not respond to the treatment and succumbed on the following day.Until Karthik’s death, the middle class family residing in Pajeer village was leading a life of dignity and contentment. The case, however, took a political turn with BJP MP Nalin Kumar Kateel started staging successive agitations to condemn police’s failure in arresting those involved in the death of Karthik. A case was also registered against MP Kateel in Konaje police station for threatening to set fire to the police station.
During the trial that began on February 26 this year, advocates Venukumar, Yuvaraj K Amin (representing accused number one Gautham Kayya and accused number two Gaurav Kayya) and Udayananda (representing accused number three Kavyashree) exposed the investigation in the heinous case. “Scientific evidence, direct witnesses, circumstantial evidence and Forensic science laboratory report ended up contradicting the chargesheet,’’ Amin said.