Mangaluru: The Fourth Additional District and Sessions Court sentenced two persons with life imprisonment in connection with the murder of a 38-year-old person on Friday, December 21.

The convicts are Harish alias Koti Poojary (48) and Hemachandra alias Guru (24), both residents of Navoor village in Bantwal taluk. According to the chargesheet filed at the court, the key accused Harish had personal enmity with the victim Suresh Poojary, a resident of Navoor. Hence, he had hatched a plan to eliminate Suresh Poojary.

Harish asked his friend Hemachandra and three others namely Neelappa Poojary (58), Vasanth (40) and Ramesh (29) to take his enemy Suresh Poojary to Nethravathi river on October 17, 2015. When his friends succeeded, Harish strangulated Suresh to death with the help of his friends. Later, the accused called Suresh’s wife and informed her that he was drowned in Nethravathi.

Though a UDR case was filed at Bantwal Rural police station in this regard, victim Suresh Poojary’s wife grew suspicious on Harish and filed a complaint against Harish. Later, the then inspector of Bantwal Rural police station K U Belliappa arrested Harish and his four friends.

When the case came for hearing at the Fourth Additional District and Sessions Court on Friday, Judge Nerale Veerabhadraiah Bhavani upheld the arguments of Public Prosecutor Harishchandra Udyavar and sentenced Harish and Hemachandra to life imprisonment. However, the other three were acquitted from the charge of murder, sources said.