Wife of Udupi jail murder accused blames media

DHNS

Udupi, 18 January 2011: Wife of an accused in the murder of undertrial Vinodh Shettigar, who was killed in Udupi district sub jail on January 14, alleged that her name has been maligned by the media by publishing false reports claiming her involvement in the case.

 

Vinodh Shettigar

 

Sheela, wife of accused in the murder case Brahmavara Mutthappa, told reporters here on Tuesday that the media reports claiming her involvement in the murder case are not true.

 

There were media reports quoting the police alleging Sheela of handing over the knives to her husband by hiding them inside a cake.

 

Sheela said, “I am not such a fool to encourage my husband to commit a murder. Those reports were all far from the truth that I was at Nittur hostel on that day.”

 

Sheela said that people started looking at her suspiciously after media reports linking her with the murder case.

 

“I am running a small fancy store at Brahmavara to earn a livelihood. However, now people refuse to look at my face after seing the media reports,” she lamented.

 

Police responsible

 

“It is true that my husband was involved in many petty cases. However, he had changed completely after our marriage. It was the police who instigated my husband to start criminal activities again. Why the police did not arrest me, if I had arranged knives for the murder of Shettigar,” she questioned and said that Vinodh Shettigar was murdered by Nagaraj, who is one of the accused in the Vinodh Shettigar murder case.

 

Sheela said that Nagaraj himself had confessed over phone that the murder was committed by him.

 

However, she said, “still the police have booked case against my husband.”

 

Sheela said that she had not visited the jail after January 3. “I had visited the jail to give the Prasada of Dharmastala temple on January 3. I had not visited the jail on January 14 and I was with my parents in Sagar for the last 10 days,” Sheela added.