Date:03/06/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/06/03/stories/2007060318290300.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Earring goes missing for a while during trial

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: There were anxious moments in a fast-track court as the earring of Chitralekha Urs went missing for a while on Saturday.

It all started while the court was recording the evidence of Ashok Mandanna, brother-in-law of Chitralekha Urs, daughter of the former High Court judge the late M.P. Chandrakanth Raje Urs. He was deposing about his visit to Shiradi Ghats, near Hassan, on March 10, 2003 for identification of Chitralekha's body.

As the special public prosecutor K. Janardhan was removing the diamond earring from a packet, the earring slipped and fell on the floor. It took nearly 20 minutes for the court staff to search the earring before the court continued with recording of evidence.

Mr. Mandanna identified the two gold rings found on Chitralekha's decomposed body. He said the body was brought to Bangalore without the skull as it was taken for further examination.

The court also recorded the evidence of Revati Rao, who was secretary to Chitralekha. Ms. Rao said she had given a cover to Chitralekha's mother Sharada Urs that contained cheques and promissory notes signed by Bharati Urs, one of the three accused in the case.