Crime News

UDUPI: Udupi Town Police have arrested two men, including the victim’s neighbour, for allegedly barging into the house of a 74-year-old woman on the pretext of collecting information related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and robbing her of a gold chain. The police have recovered property worth about Rs 5.53 lakh from the accused. According to police, the incident occurred around 3.47 pm on October 7 at Nittur in Udupi. Two men approached Shantha Karanth (74), who was alone at home, claiming they had come to collect information regarding the SIR exercise. They allegedly asked her to sign some papers. When she went inside saying she would first consult her son, the duo followed her into the house, pushed her to the ground and forcibly snatched the gold chain from her neck before fleeing. Based on a complaint lodged by her son, Srinivas Karanth, Udupi Town Police registered a case under Sections 309(4) and 3(5) of the BNS. Following an investigation led by Udupi Town police inspector Mahesh Prasad, the accused were identified and arrested on October 10 from Mannapalla in Manipal. They have been identified as Vadiraj Ganiga (44) of Nittur and Sachin (30) of Padu village in Kapu taluk.

July 20 was the last time Anil Kunder spoke to his younger brother, Alwin, who lived in Sharjah. When repeated calls to Alwin’s phone went unanswered, Anil suspected something amiss and alerted his friend, asking him to check his whereabouts. Although initial reports suggested Alwin had left for India, Anil remained unconvinced. Weeks later, his fears were confirmed when Alwin’s body, cut into nine pieces, was recovered from the boot of his car on August 12. Alwin, a 51-year-old from Kundapur in Karnataka’s Udupi district, had been working at Sharjah Airport for around 14 years. He lived in Sharjah with his wife, Tina, a teacher from Udyavara in Udupi, and their son, a Class 10 student. The couple had been married for around 20 years. The whereabouts of Tina and their son remain unknown.