How Safe Are Women in City? Brutal Murder of Shreemathi Shetty Shocks Citizens, Especially Women
Mangaluru: Rumours are that the brutal/horrific murder of a young lady in the city was FIRST of its kind in Karnataka, if that’s not true, for SURE it is the FIRST of its kind in Mangaluru- no doubt about it- and Team Mangalorean through this report want to highlight the murder of 35-year-old Shreemathi Shetty, a resident of Amar Alva Lane, near to Ramakrishna Mission, Mangaluru during the wee hours of Sunday, where her mutilated body was stuffed in two gunny bags, and dumped one bag near Nandigudda near Koti Chennaya Circle, containing her legs and hands, and the other bag near a petty shop in the Kadri Park vicinity, containing other parts of the body, including her skull stuffed inside a helmet.
It is revealed that Shreemathi Shetty, age 35, was a native of Polali Mogaru, in but was residing in a newly built house four years ago in Amar Alva Lane, and was managing a fan/appliances repair shop at Attavar-Mangaluru. Her body chopped into pieces, stuffed in two gunny bags and dumped on the roadside in two different locations has shocked the citizens of Mangaluru, especially the women, since such a horrific murder where a woman’s body cut into pieces, was the FIRST time in Mangaluru, citizens say. Her skull was stuffed inside a two-wheeler helmet, and it seemed like her chest skin was burnt or peeled off. As per police , apart from the lady’s body parts, her limbs are missing, and police are trying to find them.
As per details from the Police Commissionerate office, Shreemathi Shetty was residing with her aunt (father’s sister) on Amar Alva Road. It is learnt that Shreemathi was divorcee, and her former husband Sudeep is in jail related to a theft case at Mangaluru South Police station. It seems like the murder was due to personal reasons, but as per Police Commissioner Sandeep Patil, three squads have been formed to trace the culprits, and get the exact motive behind this horrific murder. Ms Shetty was married 14 years ago but had divorced her first husband a few years ago, after which she got married again to Sudeep, a distant relative hailing from Madikeri two years ago, but she even divorced Sudeep.
Since her family members were against her getting married to Sudeep, Shreemathi, therefore, distanced herself from mother and sisters, and after divorcing Sudeep she stayed with her Aunt. It is learnt that Shreemathi used to go by car to her shop, and even carried her lunch. But on Saturday, she rode her two-wheeler to her shop, but since she never made it to the shop, a few calls made to her mobile phone went unanswered- so the family members filed a missing person case. But sadly on Sunday, the kith and kin of Ms Shetty got the news that Shreemathi had been murdered.
The police are checking into a CCTV footage captured near Kadri Park area, where a man riding a Scooter is seen dumping the gunny bag and taking off, and they are working on it to apprehend the accused. District-minister-in-charge U T Khader has directed the law enforcement authorities to catch the culprits quickly and punish them to the maximum.
It’s sad to note that, India has been ranked as the most dangerous country in the world for women has reignited the country’s ongoing debate over women’s safety, because of its high incidents of sexual violence, lack of access to justice in rape cases, child marriage, female feticide and human trafficking. And on the other hand PM Narendra Modi is branding himself as “CHOWKIDAR” of this nation. What Indian women have to say about this? Frankly speaking government has done little to protect women since the controversial rape and murder of a young student in 2012 prompted widespread outrage and changes in the country’s rape laws.
Sad to say that India has shown utter disregard and disrespect for women … rape, marital rapes, sexual assault and harassment, female infanticide has gone unabated. Crimes against women rose 83 percent between 2007 and 2016, where there were four cases of rape every hour. In addition, India has the most child brides in the world — around a third of all girls are married before their 18th birthday — and its own government estimated earlier this year that there are 63 million “missing” women in the country because of sex-selective abortion, as well as 21 million unwanted girls. But has anyone taken any action, rather than speaking of “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao”-which is nothing but a publicity stunt. What a shame for our country!”
In April, Modi’s top lieutenant, Amit Shah, defended his boss’s record on women at a rally, saying that in India “women have a status of a deity” and that the government had instituted many programs to help them — such as Modi’s ambitious plan to put a toilet in every Indian home — as well as the country’s move to toughen punishments for child rapists after the brutal murder and gang rape of an 8-year-old girl earlier this year that shocked the country. I do appreciate PM’s efforts in building toilets- but the safety of women is more important than that? If a woman goes to a toilet, and never returns back due to attacks, rape or murder-what good will building toilet project do?
Speaking about the safety of Women, Ms Shalini R, a professor in a reputed college in the city said, “India isn’t safe at all for women and young girls at all …Every time a girl walks out of her house doesn’t know if she will return home safely. She lives with fear every minute of her life with all the rapes and murders going on.. India has become hell for women… Is this independence in the life of women? When India got independence I think it was for both men as well as women but the tide has turned I think women better start their protest.. Its high time now. Shreemathi Shetty didn’t deserve to die in such a brutal manner. The people who were behind her death should be caught and punished severely. This horrific murder is indeed a shame for our educational hub. Are we safe to walk around, is a question which still haunts our mind”?
A few years ago, I remember a news article of a young lady who was working for a reputed car showroom in Mangalore who was murdered and her burnt body was found. No idea what happened to that case.