Praveen Subramanya Bhat who was earlier convicted in a triple murder case by the Second Additional District Court of Belagavi has been acquitted by the High Court of Karnataka in Dharwad.
In a case that had drawn the attention of the country, Bhat, a student then, was accused of murdering a housewife Reena Rakesh Malagatti and her two children Aditya and Sahitya at her residence in Kuvempu Nagar in Belagavi on August 16, 2015.
Registering the case, the APMC Police of Belagavi arrested Malagatti’s neighbour Bhat within a day. Bhat was pursuing Chartered Accountancy course then. The police charged him with having an illicit relationship with the woman that consequently had gone sour, finally leading to the crime.
The Second Additional District Court which heard the case passed orders on April 16, 2018 holding Bhat guilty of the crime.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment and was asked to pay a fine of ₹10,000. Following his conviction, he was lodged in the Hindalga Central Prison.
Bhat’s counsel then appealed to the High Court in Dharwad against the conviction. Admitting the Writ Petition, the court stayed the District Court’s order. After prolonged hearing, a two-judge bench comprising Justice K.S. Mudgal and Justice M.G.S. Kamal acquitted Bhat of the murder charge citing lack of evidence against him on Tuesday.
Bhat’s advocate Praveen Karoshi said that the prosecution had in the District Court relied much on circumstantial evidence and telephone call records, among others, to convict his client holding that the prosecution had proved all links in the chain of circumstances.
However, the High Court held that the prosecution had failed to prove all the links in the chain of circumstances and acquitted Bhat, counsel said. Following his acquittal, Bhat has been released from prison now.
