Just hours after the Udupi district police arrested a murder suspect, they were forced to rush him to a hospital as he told them that he had swallowed diamonds.

Niranjan Bhat (26), an astrologer, is the main suspect in the murder of NRI businessman Bhaskar Shetty. The Manipal police arrested him at around 7.30 pm on Monday from a bus stand in Udupi. Saudi Arabia-based entrepreneur Bhaskar Shetty went missing on July 28 and was later found murdered.

At the Manipal Police Station he complained of severe stomach pain, after which he was rushed to the government hospital.

He told the police that he had swallowed a diamond ring and two diamond studs before he was apprehended in an attempt to commit suicide.  

Hospital's district surgeon Dr Madhusudan Nayak told TOI: “We put Niranjan through scanning and Xray. The reports confirmed he had swallowed diamond rings. After that, we admitted him in our hospital. At the moment, we can't confirm whether he swallowed the ornament in full or only the diamond studs. The X-ray shows the diamond is intact, which means limited harm. We are giving him laxative agents to help him shoot out the diamond piece. There are chances the stud may remain stuck to the inner wall of the stomach. In such a scenario, we may have to operate upon him.”

The police arrested Shetty’s wife Rajeshwari and son Navneeth on Sunday. According to the police, the mother-son duo, along with the astrologer murdered Shetty, in order to prevent him from changing his will, that entitles them to his property. 

 However, the Bunt community, to which Shetty belongs, has alleged that the police are hand in glove with the accused to protect Bhat. They have sought a high level investigation into the incident.