Mangaluru: Family members and friends of Wilson Fernandez staged protested after his body which was kept at mortuary room of a private hospital in Derlakatte in Mangaluru, decomposed in the mortuary room. Wilson passed away on Friday after being electrocuted while repairing a switch board at shop.

Following the incident on Friday, Wilson’s body was kept at mortuary of the hospital. On Sunday when the body was being handed over to the family, the body was completely in decomposed state, triggering anguish among the family members.

The family staged protest outside the hospital after which Ullal MLA UT Khader reached the spot and is busy trying to convince the family members. Heavy police deployment was also reported outside the hospital following the incident.

ACP Kodantaraya is at the spot and is supervising police teams led by Ulla Police Inspector Gopikrishna in controlling the protesters.

The pictures of Wilson’s body taken on Friday and the pictures taken on Sunday evening are now being widely shared on social media platforms which has also triggered debate on social media over the issue.

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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.