Udupi: In a tragic incident, Bhaskar Shetty, owner of Hotel Durga International in the city who had gone missing some days back was found dead near a temple in Nandalike, Karkala.

Shetty was missing since July 28 and his mother had filed a complaint on July 30; she stated that her son had been kidnapped by Shetty’s wife and son.

Soon after the complaint was filed, Shetty’s wife Rajeshwari and son Navneet were taken into custody and Navneet confessed to have murdered his father on July 28. He added that the murder was carried out with help from his mother and a temple priest named Niranjan Bhat. He told the police that Bhat took the body to Nandalike where a homa was conducted and Shetty’s body was burnt. The mother-son duo reportedly waited till the body was half burnt and left the scene. Bhat is said to be absconding and the police are on the lookout for him.

It is said that the materials for the homa was packed in about 25 gunny bags and dumped into a stream, of which the police managed to recover 10. The police visited Shetty’s house on August 5 night.

Sources say that when Shetty had gone to Saudi Arabia for business, his wife had misappropriated funds and Shetty questioned her. However, as she tried to burn some documents, he stopped her but was allegedly assaulted by his son. After this incident, Shetty started staying at the hotel.