Court orders fresh probe in Karnataka CM’s wife death following PIL alleging conspiracy and murder

A court in Shimoga, Karnataka has ordered fresh probing in the case of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa’s wife’s Mytra devi’s death. The court wants a detailed report from the Doddapet police by March 31, 2009.

The Karnataka chief minister’s wife passed away in October 2004 at their house when she slipped into an underground water sump according to the reports. Police investigated the case, but found no reason to suspect any mischief and closed the case.

A lawyer R Seshadri filed a PIL questioning the fact that the a woman in a tank with such a narrow opening is a little out of bounds. Reportedly the water tank has an opening of 1×1 feet and the water level was reported to be 4 feet at the time of casualty. Mytra devi’s height was well above 5 feet.

Lawyer Sheshadri suspects foul play and had filed a petition on which the court of second JMFC has passed the order. The lawyer names 7 people- B S Yeddyurappa, his two sons, daughter Aruna Devi and three servants. R Seshadri claims that Yedyurappa attended governemtn functions and claimed reimbursements

The lawyer suspects conspiracy and claims that Yeddyurappa ended up in an argument with his wife following which there was an assault on his wife, and hence her death. The lawyer also claims that the suspects had fabricated evidence and were trying to get the police to file a B-report. However, the post-mortem report determined drowning as the cause of death.

The case had been closed in 2004 when the police investigated into the matter and gave a clean chit to the people suspected by Sheshadri.

BS Yedyurappa was the opposition leader in Karnataka at the time. The chief minister refused to react to the court’s order.

With the elections coming up the fresh probe into his wife’s death in 2004 is definitely not good timing for Yeddyurappa. The court wants a detailed report from the Doddapet police by March 31, 2009.