Mysuru: A 75-year-old man was murdered for a pair of diamond-and- pearl-studded ear studs given to his family by the erstwhile rulers of Mysuru. The killers had torn off the old man’s earlobes to snatch the jewel. The murder came to light yesterday night when the frail old man’s body was found amidst bushes at Lalithadripura, Mysuru Taluk.

The victim has been identified as Mooganamane Madaiah, a resident of Lalithadripura. Madaiah has four children and among them three are daughters. His wife had pre-deceased him.

His son is Venkatappa and one of his daughters is physically challenged. The other two daughters are married and live with their families.

The area where Madaiah lived abuts Lalithadripura MUDA Layout that has not been developed. The place is frequented by anti-social elements who indulge in illegal activities. Villagers and family members suspect that Madaiah would have been murdered by those miscreants.

Madaiah’s family, along with other villagers, owned vast swathes of land in and around Lalithadripura and it was an undivided family years ago. Gradually the family disintegrated and most of the members sold their properties to real estate developers. Now the family members live in abject poverty and have no lands to claim as their own.

Realising that Venkatappa too sold his land and had squandered the money, Madaiah, out of his savings, bought three cows and five she-buffaloes and used to sell milk to eke out a living. He was living in a small house with his son who is a bachelor and the physically-challenged daughter.

Madaiah had a pair of “Kondalus” or ear studs, a prized possession as they had been gifted to the family by the erstwhile Maharajas of Mysore. Villagers say that the ear studs had pearls and diamonds and apart from Madaiah only one more person in the village wore those studs.

The antique piece was revered in the village and Madaiah too was a well-respected man. Villagers said that Madaiah was a good man and had no  enemies in the village.

As his daily routine, Madaiah used to take the bovines for grazing near the JSS Ayurveda College Main Gate on the Helipad Road and yesterday too, he took them out at around 10 am and also carried an umbrella and a walking stick with him. Usually, Madaiah returned home by 4.30 pm and yesterday, he was not to be seen at the house even after 8 pm.

The family members then informed the villagers who went in search of Madaiah. His cows were found near the MUDA Layout and on intense searching, Madaiah was found near a bush, bleeding from his head. His umbrella was found near a tree. Miscreants had hit his head with stones and had dragged him near the bush. The spot of the crime was 500 metres from the Ring Road and the criminals wanted to avoid the attention of motorists.

Criminals had torn off Madaiah’s earlobes to snatch the ear studs. Villagers found that Madaiah was still alive and was making a grunting sound and was mumbling some words. They immediately shifted him to Cauvery Hospital while Madaiah’s condition turned critical. Soon, he died of excessive bleeding.

A nurse at the hospital told Star of Mysore on condition of anonymity this morning that Madaiah’s state was highly critical and the hospital did not admit him as an in-patient. Realising that Madaiah breathed his last, the villagers took his body late in the night for the last rites. It is yet to be confirmed whether the body was buried or cremated.

When Star of Mysore contacted the Mysuru South Police over phone, the calls were not answered.