A Mangaluru court on Monday sentenced four persons to life imprisonment for murdering 55-year-old Gangadhara Pangala, the president of Baikampady Mogaveera Mahasabaha, on May 14, 2014.
The second Additional District and Sessions Judge, Jagadeesh V.N., sentenced Satish Baikampady, Pushparaj, Harish Bikampady and Bhaskar Baikampady to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹15,000 each for offences under Section 302 (murder) read with Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). In default of payment of the fine, they will undergo simple imprisonment for one year.
The four were also sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and fined ₹1,000 each for the offence under Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of the IPC. All sentences will run concurrently. The judge said that of the total fine amount of ₹64,000, ₹50,000 would be paid as compensation to the daughters of the deceased Gangadhara Pangala, while the remaining ₹14,000 would be deposited with the government. Three vehicles used by the accused in the murder will be confiscated by the government, the judge said.
According to the chargesheet, Satish Baikampady was earlier the president of Baikampady Mogaveera Sabha in 2013. He also headed Mahasabha committees overseeing the reconstruction of Gopalakrishna Bhajana Mandira and the Baikampady High School building. Satish, his brother Bhaskar, and Harish were placed under suspension by the Mahasabha following allegations of misappropriation of reconstruction funds. The three allegedly bore a grudge against Pangala, as they held him responsible for their suspension and for the loss of face over the allegations of financial misappropriation.
In the early hours of May 14, 2014, the four accused waited near Vishweshwara Hotel in Baikampady where Pangala had parked his scooter. After Pangala arrived in his son-in-law’s car and rode away on his scooter towards Meenakaliya, Pushparaj followed him in a car and rammed the scooter near Ganesh Shipping Agency’s cement godown, killing him. Satish, Bhaskar and Harish then reached the spot in two other vehicles to confirm Pangala’s death. They left the body behind and shifted the damaged scooter to a garage in Attavar for repair to destroy evidence, the chargesheet stated.
The Panambur police initially registered a case of accidental death. After collecting evidence at the spot, including damaged scooter parts, marks showing movement of the accused vehicles and eyewitness statements, police registered a murder case. The police first arrested Pushparaj, Bhaskar, and Harish, and later arrested Satish. The initial investigation was done by Inspector N.R. Mukri, followed by Inspectors Ravish Nayak and Bhaskar Rai. The chargesheet was filed in 2015 by police inspector Lokesh. Proceedings in the case were stayed by the High Court till January 2025.
Prosecutor Jyothi Pramod Nayak examined a total of 43 witnesses between July 2025 and March 2026.
Published - July 27, 2026 08:42 pm IST