Social worker, wife die by suicide in Udupi
Mangaluru (PTI): Social worker and theatre personality Leeladhar Shetty and his wife Vasundhara Shetty allegedly died by suicide at their house, police said on Wednesday.
Shetty was 68 years old and his wife 58. The couple were found hanging from the ceiling of their home using a saree on Tuesday night, they said.
Shetty was the founder of the Rangataranga drama troupe in Kaup in Udupi district. He was known for his friendly nature and had a number of admirers in the region.
The social worker had once contested elections from the Kaup assembly constituency. He had also served as the president of Majoor gram Panchayat and was a former president of Kaup Buntara Sangha.
Shetty was an active social worker and had always taken the initiative to help needy people. The reason behind the couple taking the extreme step is not immediately known, sources said.
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Passport fraud: Police officer arrested for forging verification records
Mangaluru (Karnataka) (PTI): A police officer has been arrested for allegedly forging verification records to facilitate issuance of a passport to a local resident in Dakshina Kannada district, police said on Tuesday.
The case emerged following discrepancies in the verification of Shakti Das' passport application submitted in February 2025, they said.
Authorities reported that an initial application was flagged due to an address mismatch.
Das re-submitted his application in June 2025, but the investigation revealed that police inspector Pradeep had forged a report under the name of a beat officer, falsifying records to circumvent the verification process.
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The fraudulent activities came to light when documents were reviewed on December 19, revealing an attempt to destroy evidence related to the case, a senior police officer said.
As a result, a case has been filed against Das and Pradeep at Vitla police station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita including forgery and criminal breach of trust, police said.
Pradeep has been taken into custody and presented to the court, which has ordered his judicial remand, they said.
According to police, inquiries are on to ascertain the background of Das, who is still at large.
