Karnataka   

Udupi MLA’s wife goes missing; police launch search

Kunjargiri (Udupi District): Padmapriya Bhat, wife of Udupi MLA K. Raghupati Bhat, has been missing since Wednesday.

Ms. Bhat is said to have taken her car from her husband’s house in Udupi to go to her mother’s place at Karnad near Mulki on Wednesday. However, her car was found abandoned below the Kunjargiri Hill in Kunjagiri village in the Shirva police station limits on Friday.

Some broken bangles were seen near the driver’s seat of the car. Some bloodstains were also seen. Soon after getting information, the police swung into action and blocked the entry and exit points of the area. A sniffer dog was also pressed into service at the spot. The police were carrying on their search for Ms. Bhat in the surrounding forest areas. Some divers were also pressed into service in two small ponds near the spot. However, they found no clues to the case.

Speaking to presspersons here, Inspector General of Police (Western Range) A.M. Prasad said that as soon as he got the message of the incident, he sent a team of police personnel to the area to check. “She drove the car herself to the (Sri Durga Devi) temple (at Kunjargiri) two days ago. The Shirva police were informed about the car on Friday, that is how we came to know about the incident. We are carrying on investigation. It would be too premature for me to say anything now,” Mr. Prasad said.

Deputy Superintendent of Police M.B. Nagaraju told The Hindu that a mobile telephone, some broken bangles, some tablets, a bag containing about Rs. 10,000 in cash and bloodstains were found in the car. A team of Anti-Naxalite Force also took part in the search.

Later, Mr. Raghupati Bhat visited the spot along with former MLA Sunil Kumar. Home Minister V.S. Acharya also visited the spot.

Superintendent of Police of Anti-Naxalite Force (ANF) Subash Gudimani and Superintendent of Police of Dakshina Kannada Satish Kumar were present.

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