A 32-year-old life convict, Prashant Mogaveera from Gopade village in Kundapura taluk of Udupi district, did not return to the Belagavi Central Prison by 5.30 p.m. on October 20, the day his 27-day parole ended.
According to a complaint filed with the Kundapur police by Central Prison Chief Superintendent Krishna Murthy Shet, Mogaveera was released on parole on September 24 following a High Court order, with Sujay and Raghavendra standing as his sureties.
Mr. Shet said Mogaveera has been missing since the parole expiry time and that the two sureties failed to ensure his return to the prison authorities.
A case has been registered against Mogaveera and the two sureties under Section 263(B) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (resisting or obstructing lawful apprehension) and Sections 57 and 58 of the Karnataka Prisons (Amendment) Act, 2022, pertaining to failure to appear after parole and the penalty for not surrendering.
Mogaveera was originally sentenced to death on February 14, 2018, by the Udupi Additional District and Sessions Judge (sitting in Kundapur) for robbing and murdering a 32-year-old pregnant woman on April 11, 2015. On January 24, 2024, a High Court bench comprising Justice K.S. Mudgal and Justice Venkatesh Naik T. reduced the sentence to life imprisonment without remission until he turns 60, noting that his “lust craving” would diminish by then.
He was granted parole on September 17 by Justice Govindaraj after his sister petitioned the court, stating that Mogaveera suffers from epilepsy and neurofits and required specialised medical opinion.
