Karnataka high court orders re-probe into drowning case

The high court on Wednesday has ordered for a re-investigation of an alleged murder that took place almost two years ago at  Karkala taluk of Udupi district.  Alwyn de Almeida of Kunkundoor village, Karkala Taluk,  drowned on  September 29, 2009.

The dead body was found by one Benjamin D’Souza, who took the body to Manipal’s Kasturba Medical Hospital, where a  postmortem was conducted. Alwyn was later buried at a church in Karkala.

However, Almeida’s wife  Jacintha and his father Francis de Alemida were not informed of Alwyn’s death, his postmortem, or his burial.

The victim’s wife and his father have contended that there is foul play and alleged that Alwyn was murdered by Benjamin.

The high court has ordered for a re-investigation after the district surgeon of Udupi district mentioned in the medical report that it was a case of unnatural death.

The high court on November 4, 2010, had directed the medical superintendent in the government hospital of Udupi to exhume the body and submit a report to the high court medical officer. The report was submitted to the court on Wednesday.

Single bench justice Mohan Shanthan Goudra observed that, as per the opinion of the district surgeon, it is a clear case of unnatural death.

The judge has directed the jurisdictional police to conduct an investigation and submit an investigation report in four months.