The sessions court here has acquitted realtor-turned-film producer Govardhan Murthy and six others arrested for the alleged murder of film actor Vinod Kumar. Pronouncing the judgment, the court said on Wednesday that the prosecution failed to prove the involvement of the accused.
Initially, the police thought Murthy murdered Kumar to avenge the humiliation he suffered when the girl to whom he proposed got engaged with Kumar. The defence counsel CH Hanumanthraya said all the evidences submitted were “concocted”. He told reporters that the dying declaration of Kumar was fabricated as the cross examination of the medical officials proved that the profusely bleeding Kumar could not have spoken for 15 minutes in that condition.
Kumar was rushed to the hospital belonging to his would be father-in-law where the dying declaration was prepared. However, the statement of the doctors from Manipal Hospital, where Kumar was admitted, was not examined.
The two cartridges seized from the crime scene did not indicate they had been fired and Kumar’s blood-soaked shirt was replaced by the police, he said. The prosecution did not summon eight witnesses or the complainant of the case, Shankar Reddy. Instead, they summoned two witnesses to depose before the court against Murthy.
While one of the witnesses was a close friend of Kumar, the other was a relative of his. Kumar was shot dead on October 6, 2008, in LG Rose Guest House in Bagalur. Reddy filed a complaint with Bagalur police and a charge-sheet was filed. Murthy unsuccessfully challenged the criminal proceedings in the high court and the Supreme Court. He fled and was later arrested in Kochi.
