A Mangaluru court has handed down the death penalty to 43-year-old Hithesh Shettigar, a resident of Punaroor near Mulky, after finding him guilty of murdering his three children and attempting to murder his wife by pushing them into an open well in 2022.
The 3rd Additional District and Sessions Judge, S. Sandhya, sentenced Shettigar to death by hanging, under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), for the murder of his children. The court also imposed a 10-year prison sentence and a Rs10,000 fine for attempting to murder his wife, Laxmi, under Section 307 of the IPC. The case will be forwarded to the Karnataka High Court for confirmation of the death sentence.
On June 23, 2022, Shettigar drowned his children—Rashmika, 14, Uday Kumar, 11, and Dakshit, 4—by pushing them into a neighbor’s well. When Laxmi arrived at the scene, she was also thrown into the well. She was rescued by passers-by but tragically, her children had already passed away. Laxmi’s complaint led to Shettigar’s arrest by the Mulky Police, and a chargesheet was filed by Police Inspector K. Kusumadhar.
The court considered testimony from 32 witnesses, including Laxmi, as evidence. The judge also ordered compensation for Laxmi in accordance with Section 357(1)(b) of the Criminal Procedure Code and instructed the District Legal Services Authority to take necessary action.
