Mangaluru: A 31-year old person who brutally murdered his friend nearly two years ago was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Third Additional District and Sessions Court on Friday, October 12.
The convict is Pradeep Kumar, a resident of Shikaripura in Shivamogga district. According to the chargesheet filed at the court, Pradeep Kumar and victim Rudramuni were friends and they had been working in a saloon, located at Kuttar near Deralakatte. Both had befriended a woman who was also from their native place. The victim Rudramuni was against Pradeep Kumar interacting with that woman and the duo was frequently quarreling with each other over the same issue. An altercation ensued between them after a New Year party at their rented room on December 31, 2016. After heated arguments between them, Pradeep Kumar stabbed Rudramuni and fled the scene, leaving him in a pool of blood.
Two days after the incident, the Ullal Police succeeded in nabbing Pradeep Kumar from Ujjodi on January 2, 2018. After a thorough investigation, Ullal Inspector K R Gopikrishna filed a chargesheet against Pradeep Kumar. During the hearing, by examining the statement of 22 witnesses, Judge Muralidhar Pai upheld the arguments of Public Prosecutor Narayana Sherigar and convicted Pradeep Kumar with life imprisonment and slapped a penalty of Rs 1000.
