Lawyer SL Rajappa's father Lakshmana says he had no inkling about his son's interest in advocate Naveena whom he murdered on July 8

'I am shocked my son murdered Naveena'

Lawyer SL Rajappa's father Lakshmana says he had no inkling about his son's interest in advocate Naveena whom he murdered on July 8

Rajappa's father Lakshmana, was seated outside the ICU of the Victoria Hospital, hoping to be allowed to speak to his son, when this reporter spoke to him.

Rajappa is second of Lakshmana's five children and the most educated.

Lakshmana is only allowed to see Rajappa twice a day at 7 am and 6 pm for five minutes through a glass window.

Lakshmana is only allowed to see his son twice a day at 7 am and 6 pm for five minutes through a glass window. Lakshmana said he has worked hard so Rajappa could study law.

"I was shocked to hear that my son has murdered Naveena just because she turned down his advances. He is a very good boy.
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I find it so hard to believe that he murdered a girl. I did not know if he was in an relationship with her," Rajappa said.

Lakshmana said Rajappa had turned down proposals for marriage because he wanted to build a house in Bangalore first. "A couple of families from Bangalore had approached us with proposals for marriage.
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They were ready to even ready to gift him a house in Bangalore. But he told me that he wanted to remain single for another two years and also wanted to construct a house for himself before that.

Had we known what he had in mind, we would not have allowed him to stay in Bangalore," he added.

Lakshmana said the repeated trips to Bangalore to see his son were a burden. "I am finding it difficult to pay the bus fare. I come to see my son twice or thrice a week, and spend a few hundreds every time.

I can't afford this. We are a very poor family. My elder son is an errand boy. He earns Rs 100 to Rs 150 a day. The other children are studying."

Ten days before the murder, Rajappa had visited his family. "He bought a colour TV, two pairs of chairs for the house. He was the only hope for our family.
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Whenever we asked for financial help, he would give us some money. He was like the light of our lives. I don't know how all this has happened. May be, we are going through a bad phase," said Lakshmana.

Rajappa stable but critical
Rajappa underwent a throat operation on Saturday. His condition is said to be stable but he continues to be on ventilator. Dr BG Tilak, medical superintendent, Victoria hospital, refused to talk.

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