Mangaluru: A 50-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Mangaluru for killing his friend following a dispute over a mobile phone at Thota Bengre in September 2024.

The Second Additional District and Sessions Court convicted Dharmaraj Suvarna in connection with the murder of Muthu Basavaraj Waddar, alias Mudukappa, 39, a native of Bagalkot.

Judge Jagadeesh V N also imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on Suvarna. In default of payment, he will have to undergo six months of simple imprisonment.

The incident took place on September 21, 2024, near the seashore behind the Bobbarya Daivasthana at Thota Bengre, within the limits of Panambur police station.

According to the case, Suvarna and Waddar were friends. A dispute reportedly erupted after Waddar allegedly took Suvarna’s mobile phone and damaged it without returning it. The disagreement escalated into a physical altercation, during which Suvarna assaulted Waddar with a wooden club, resulting in his death.

Following a complaint lodged by Hanumantha Durgappa Waddar, Panambur police registered a murder case under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Suvarna was arrested on September 26, 2024, within the jurisdiction of Chombala police station in Kozhikode district, Kerala.

Panambur police inspector Mohammed Saleem Abbas conducted part of the investigation. After provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were invoked in the case, further investigation was entrusted to K Srikanth, Assistant Commissioner of Police, North Sub-Division, Panambur.

The police subsequently filed a chargesheet before the court. Special Public Prosecutor Jyothi Pramod Nayak represented the prosecution.