Mangaluru: The First Additional District and Sessions Court convicted four people accused in a land dispute case and awarded them jail terms along with fines.

The convicted individuals are Gopal Gowda alias Gopal Krishna Gowda (67) from Neriya village, A. Damayanti (71) from Bandaru village, Vasant Gowda alias Ramanna Gowda (34), and Pushpalatha (41) from Neriya village.

Gopal Gowda has been sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment and fined ₹1 lakh, with an additional six months’ simple imprisonment in case of non-payment. The other three accused were sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment each and fined ₹15,000 per person. If they fail to pay, they will face an additional three months of simple imprisonment.

The court also ordered that ₹1.45 lakh from the collected fines be paid as compensation to the victim, Sundara Malekudiya. The verdict was pronounced by Judge Mallikarjun Swamy H.S.

The incident occurred on July 26, 2015, in Kattaje, Neriya village of Belthangady taluk, where Sundara Malekudiya and his family were clearing vegetation on a piece of land allocated to them by the forest department. The accused allegedly entered the property, objected to their activities, and claimed ownership of the land. When Malekudiya challenged them, he was allegedly attacked with a sharp weapon, resulting in the severing of his fingers and serious injuries to his hands.

The assailants also allegedly threw chilli powder at Malekudiya’s son, Poornesh, and issued death threats to the family, warning them against returning to the land.

The case was investigated under the supervision of IPS officer Rahul Kumar, who was then serving as Assistant Superintendent of Police for the Bantwal sub-division.