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High Court upholds death sentence

Staff Reporter

Three had been convicted of killing a merchant and dismembering body

Those sentenced are Madhurnath, Rafiq and Jayanna of Sagar taluk
This is the second death sentence passed by the same Bench in the last two days

BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday upheld the death sentence awarded to three men from Sagar in Shimoga district for murdering a ginger merchant and dismembering the body.

A Division Bench comprising Justice K. Sreedhar Rao and Justice B.V. Pinto allowed the reference by the prosecution and dismissed appeals by the three accused questioning the verdict of the District and Sessions Court, Shimoga, awarding them the death sentence.

Appearing for the State, Public Prosecutor H.S. Chandramouli said District and Sessions Judge and Presiding Officer of the Third Fast-Track Court D.R. Renuke, on July 17, 2008, awarded the death sentence to Madhurnath, Rafiq and Jayanna of Anandpuram in Sagar taluk for murdering a merchant. Mr. Chandramouli said the accused had been sentenced by the Shimoga court to also undergo seven years' imprisonment for kidnapping Madhusudhan, a ginger merchant, and five years for having destroyed evidence in the case.

Arguing for upholding death sentence, Mr. Chandramouli contended that it was a cold-blooded murder, and Madhurnath had hatched the plan along with the others.

He said the murder was most foul as Madhusudan had been a friend of his and he was looking after his uncles' ginger business.

Madhusudan, he said, was waiting at the bus-stand in Sagar on August 8, 2005 to go to Anandapuram to hand over cash he had collected from the parties concerned to his uncle.

Madhurnath saw Madhusudan at the bus-stand and offered him a lift in his van. to Anandapuram. A little later, Madhurnath was joined by Rafiq and Jayanna. The three strangled Madhusudan, robbed him of the cash. and dumped his body his body in a forest.

They returned to the forest the next day and severed Madhusudan's head from the body and threw it into the nearby Nandihole rivulet. They then disfigured the body and fled after dumping it in a secluded spot in a teak plantation.

The case came to light when two persons, Srinath and Kiran, who had paid money to Madhusudan to get ginger, lodged a police complaint.

The next day, the accused went to the spot where they had abandoned the body.

Mr. Chandramouli argued that the accused did not deserve any sympathy.

He said their conduct was reprehensible and they did not deserve to live in civilised society.

The Bench accepted the arguments of the State and upheld the death sentence.

This is the second death sentence passed by the same Bench in the past two days. On Monday, the Bench awarded death sentence to a taxi driver, Mohammad, of Birur, for murdering a woman near Kadur.

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