BANGALORE: A 28-year-old man was awarded life term for murdering a 31-year-old homemaker, who had allegedly blackmailed him for sex.
Judge Vishwanath V Angadi of the Principal City Civil and Sessions Court also slapped a fine of `10,000 on Lalan alias Lalan Kumar. Lalan appealed to the court to spare him from a life term as he was still a student and had got married while out on bail.
According to the prosecution, Lalan, an MCA student, lived with his sister and brother-in-law in Bhuvaneshwari Nagar, near Peenya, and the victim, Latha Kumari, was his neighbour.
Latha and her two sons — aged six and eleven — lived in a rented house while her husband was away in Saudi Arabia.
N M Bellakki, principal public prosecutor, submitted to the court that Lalan had confessed that his friendship with Latha had turned intimate and she would often force him to have sex with her.
On the night of December 17, 2010, Latha invited Lalan home. On her advice, he told his sister he was visiting a friend’s house. He went over at 10.30 pm and found her children in the hall. Latha asked them to sleep and switched off the lights.
She then took Lalan to her room where they made love. When her demands for intimacy grew and he refused, she threatened to reveal their relationship to his sister and also file a rape case against him.
Lalan then took a towel and strangled Latha, Bellakki told the court.
Lalan took Latha’s mobile before escaping, destroyed the SIM card and flung the handset into the bushes near Soladevanahalli railway station.
The murder came to light when Latha’s elder son found her room and the main door locked and screamed for help. Neighbours broke open the doors and found Latha’s body on her bed.
Later, Latha’s father registered a complaint with the Peenya police. When he asked his grandson about frequent visitors, the names of Lalan and Nanjunda, another with whom Latha was allegedly involved, came up.
The boy revealed that Lalan had visited them on the fateful day. Panic-stricken, Lalan had stayed with his friends for three days after the incident. But the police caught him on December 21.
Judge Angadi said Lalan should have approached an appropriate authority and sought advice, instead of murdering Latha.