Mangaluru: In a significant verdict, the first additional district and sessions court in Mangaluru has acquitted Shekhar Shetty, the prime accused in the 2016 murder case of Revathi, a resident of Nidodi.
Revathi had gone missing on January 12, 2016, after leaving her home in Yamula House, Nidodi. Following a complaint by her brother Timmapa Madival, a missing person case was filed at the Moodbidri police station. He had initially suspected Shekhar Shetty, a resident of Shunthila Padavi, but police found no evidence during their early inquiry.
Complicating matters, Shekhar himself went missing shortly after questioning, prompting his wife Dayavathi to file a missing complaint. However, on January 18, 2016, Shekhar reappeared and allegedly confessed to the murder.
According to his statement, he had developed a relationship with Revathi through their beedi work interactions. Struggling financially, he pledged her gold jewellery for loans—one chain reportedly at a cooperative society in November 2015. When Revathi demanded its return, he lured her to a secluded spot in Padlaguri, where he murdered her. He later led the police to her body.
Despite the confession, the defence argued that the DNA samples submitted by the investigation team were insufficient and inconclusive. Citing this crucial lack of forensic evidence, Judge Mallikarjuna Swamy ruled that the prosecution failed to establish the crime beyond reasonable doubt, resulting in Shekhar Shetty’s acquittal.
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