Polali Candle Santhu murder case: Life term for two accused
Mangaluru, July 20: The fourth additional principal district and sessions court on Friday convicted two accused for life imprisonment and slapped a penalty of Rs 1 lakh each on charges of murdering Candle Santu alias Santosh of Polali Badakabailu.
The convicted are identified as Iqbal (39) of Bandaru and Farooq (30) of Kukkundoor Bangle Gudde in Karkala taluk. Out of Rs 2 lakh penalty, Rs 1.8 lakh should be given to the family of Santhosh and Rs 20,000 should be remitted to the government, the court said.
There were total 22 accused in the case and 13 accused were acquitted from the case, while three accused were absconding and four were died. Convicted Iqbal was the prime accused in the case and Farooq was the sixth accused.
Incident
When Santosh was sitting on a gutter at Badakabailu in Bantwala taluk on February 18 2009 at 9.30 am, the miscreants who came in a car and motorbike attacked him with lethal weapons. Sensing the danger, Santosh started running to escape from them. But as he had a leg injury in an incident earlier, he could not run fast. He was chased and attacked him brutally. Though the local people rushed him to the hospital, he died in the hospital.
Murder plan prepared in abroad
Being in abroad, Madoor Isubu had planned for the murder of Santosh and given a contract to the accused to kill him. He was killed in the jail at the city in 2015. During the arrest of the accused, Rs 2 lakh supari money was confiscated from them. Another accused Madoor Ismail died of heart attack,while Kukkundoor Sulaiman alias Khader was murdered at Karkala.
Reason for murder?
Santosh was an accused in the murder of Mallur Hamid of Kairangala village in Bantwala taluk on April 9, 2006 and Rafeeq of Gurupura Kaikamba on December 23, 2000. To take revenge against these murders, Madoor Isubu had planned to kill Santosh.
Taking it for hearing, judge Nerale Veerabhadraiah Bhavani got the statements of 25 witnesses heard the arguments and delivered the judgement. Then Bantwala rural inspector Nanjunde Gowda filed the charge sheet to the court. Public prosecutor Harishchandra Udyavara argued against the accused.
Meanwhile, SP Ravikanthe Gowda had appreciated the efforts of the Bantwala rural inspector Nanjunde Gowda and police personnel and announced a prize.
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Maharashtra government considers tweaks to Ladki Bahin scheme amid fiscal strain: Reports
Mumbai: A day after the Mahayuti coalition secured a landslide victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, attention has turned to the Ladki Bahin Yojana, a flagship welfare scheme that played a pivotal role in attracting women voters.
The scheme, launched in July 2024, offers ₹1,500 per month to economically disadvantaged women aged 18 to 65. The Mahayuti, in its election manifesto, pledged to increase the amount to ₹2,100 per month, a promise now under scrutiny due to fiscal concerns. With the scheme projected to cost the exchequer ₹33,300 crore from July 2024 to March 2025, bureaucrats are exploring ways to revise its provisions to prevent a financial imbalance.
Finance Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar hinted at the challenges, stressing the need for "financial discipline." A senior bureaucrat confirmed that plans are underway to prune the list of beneficiaries, citing the inclusion of ineligible individuals due to incomplete Aadhaar seeding and lack of required ration cards. According to the finance department, nearly one crore women out of the 2.43 crore registered beneficiaries may not qualify for the scheme.
The state’s debt burden is already projected to reach ₹7.82 lakh crore for the fiscal year 2024-25. Officials warn that continuing the scheme in its current form could impact the government’s ability to pay salaries by January. Despite these concerns, the ruling coalition is hesitant to reduce the beneficiary list, likely due to the upcoming civic elections.
Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik is expected to present renegotiation proposals to the new chief minister soon. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena spokesperson Krishna Hegde credited the scheme for increasing the number of women voters and boosting the coalition’s vote share. NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar also acknowledged the scheme’s role in mobilising women voters.
Other welfare measures introduced by the government include an electricity bill waiver for farmers and three free LPG cylinders annually for six million households. However, the financial viability of such initiatives remains a pressing concern.
