Businessman Bhaskar Shetty murder case: Hearing begins with tight police security
Udupi, July 02: The hearing of witnesses in the businessman Bhaskar Shetty murder which startled the entire state began at the principal district and sessions court here on Monday with tight police security. After killing Bhaskar Shetty, his body was burnt in the homa kundam.
On the first day, the hearing held from 11 am to 1.30 pm and important witnesses and complainant Gulabi Shedti, mother of Bhaskar Shetty, witnessed in the case. District public prosecutor Shanti Bai got the statement of Shedti. Her enquiry would also continue on July 03. Counsel Ashwini Kumar Joshi would argue in the case. Shanti Bai would get the statement from then investigating officer SV Girish on July 03.
Due to lack of space in the court hall, the hearing of the incident was conducted at the conference hall of the court. Projectors were installed in the conference hall to conduct the video conference of accused Bhaskar Shetty wife Rajeshwari Shetty (50), son Navaneeth Shetty (20) and Nandalike Niranjan Bhat (26) who are in Parappana Agrahara central jail in Bengaluru.
Sources said that the accused were not produced before the court citing security reasons. Two other accused Srinivas Bhat (56), father of Niranjan Bhat and car driver Raghavendra (26), who are on bail, were present at the court during the hearing.
Advocates of accused Arun Bangera, Arun Kumar Shetty, Kalyan Joshi, Vikram Hegde, A Sanjeeva and others were present. Out of total 167 witnesses, hearing of 44 witnesses would continue till July 6 and from July 16 to 19.
Tight police security
In view of the hearing of the witnesses, police security was beefed up in the court on Monday. Metal detectors were installed in the main door of the principal district and sessions court judge office in the first floor of the court complex. Except advocates, no one was allowed inside the court hall.
Inside and outside the court hall, armed police personnel were taking guard. Gulabi Shedti was given tight police security.
SP Lakshman was present in the court and observed the witnesses giving statements. Udupi DySP Jaishankar, district armed police force inspector Raghavendra, Manipal police inspector Sudarshan and others were in charge of the police security.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
