Fiona Swedal murder case: 18-year old brother Samson Cutinho confesses to have killed Swedal
Konaje: Brother of Fiona Swedal, who was reported to be missing from several days, has confessed to have killed her before dumping her body in a forest behind their home.
Swedal (16) a student of private PU College in Mangaluru was missing from her home from last 18 days and police was trying to track her. The investigation later on Saturday had revealed that she was killed after her skeleton was found in a forest behind her house.
Upon enquiry, her brother Samson (18), confessed that he killed her by hitting her on the head with hammer repeatedly and dumped her body in the forest behind their house. The motive behind the murder is said to be rivalry between the siblings as Samson felt his sister Swedal was being given more importance by their parents.
Samson is reportedly a drug addict and had failed his engineering exam while Swedal, a bright student in her academics was studying PU in a leading college in Mangaluru.
On October 9, Francis Cutinho, father of Swedal had filed a missing complaint of his daughter adding that she had not returned home after going to Mangaluru on October 8. Local residents of Mudipu had recently submitted a memorandum to Mangaluru Police Commissioner to investigate the matter as police was unable to find any clue about Swedal even after 15 days.
Recent investigation revealed that the Swedal’s mobile phone was last active in Mudipu vicinity which led to intense questioning of family members by the police. Swedal’s brother broke during the questioning and confessed that he murdered Swedal and dumped her body in forest.
An immediate search operation to locate Swedal’s body was launched on late Saturday night wherein the cops recovered hair, teeth and few other parts of her body along with her mobile phone. Police have also recovered the weapon of murder from Samson and is further investigating the case.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
K'taka bypolls: Bagalkot records 43.75 per cent turnout till 1 pm, 37.17 pc in Davanagere South
Bengaluru (PTI): At least 43.75 per cent of voters in Karnataka's Bagalkot, where polling for a by-election is underway, exercised their franchise by 1 pm on Thursday.
Davanagere South recorded a turnout of 37.17 per cent, the Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office said.
The bypolls were necessitated due to the demise of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti (Bagalkot) and Shamanur Shivashankarappa (Davanagere South).
While the ruling Congress faces the challenge of retaining both seats, the BJP is aiming to wrest them and deliver a setback to its rival, which is currently witnessing an "internal power struggle" over leadership.
A total of over 2.59 lakh eligible voters are expected to cast their votes at around 319 polling stations in Bagalkot, where nine candidates are in the fray.
In Davanagere South, over 2.31 lakh eligible voters are expected to vote across 284 polling stations, with 25 candidates contesting.
The BJP has fielded former MLA and 2023 defeated candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot, and a fresh face, Srinivas T Dasakariyappa, from Davanagere South.
The Congress has given tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. Bagalkot candidate Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, while Samarth Mallikarjun from Davanagere South is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
Samarth's father, S S Mallikarjun, is a minister in the Siddaramaiah-led Cabinet and in charge of Davanagere district, while his mother, Prabha Mallikarjun, is a Member of Parliament from the region.
The BJP is looking to make gains in the bypolls and energise its cadre ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections. For the Congress, retaining both seats is crucial, as a loss could be seen as a negative verdict on the performance of the Siddaramaiah-led government.
In the 2023 Assembly elections, H Y Meti defeated BJP's Charantimath by a margin of 5,878 votes in Bagalkot, while Shivashankarappa defeated BJP's B G Ajay Kumar by 27,888 votes in Davanagere South.
