BENGALURU: Priyanka (44), an advocate, who was absconding in connection with the murder of her five-and-a-half-year-old daughter, was arrested by the Kadugodi police on Thursday.
Her live-in partner has allegedly revealed that they assaulted the child, after she demanded another flavour ice cream, in the car and later covered her mouth while she was crying, leading to her death.
The accused are Priyanka and her live-in partner Mohan G Mahalingappa (40), a real estate developer. The victim, P Vennela, was staying with her mother. Priyanka and her husband Praveen, a private school owner in Davanagere, had recently separated. Their elder daughter is staying with Praveen.
A police officer told TNIE that Priyanka was absconding after an FIR was registered against her. She was arrested near Sakleshpur in Hassan district and brought to Bengaluru. After being produced before a court, she was remanded in police custody for five days for further investigation.
Priyanka had stopped using her phone and bank cards to avoid detection. She was staying at a farmhouse owned by a friend of Mohan.
Mohan, who was in 10 days of police custody, reportedly revealed that on the night of March 24, while Priyanka had gone shopping near Indiranagar, he was in the car with Vennela.
The child asked for ice cream and that he bought one for her. When she refused the ice cream he had purchased and insisted on another one, he allegedly assaulted her in the stomach. As the child began crying loudly, he allegedly covered her mouth and nose, resulting in her death. Police said the prime accused, Priyanka, has yet to fully disclose her role in the murder. Only after comparing the statements of both accused would they be able to establish a clear picture of the murder and the alleged destruction of evidence.
To cover up the crime, Priyanka allegedly gave her family members two different versions of events. In one version, she claimed that the child ate food and slept, and that the next morning she found her dead. In another version, she said that she and Mohan had gone to a restaurant in Kolar to celebrate her birthday and left Vennela sleeping inside the car with the air conditioner on. Later, they took the child home and put her to bed, only to find her dead the next morning.
Praveen consulted his sister, a doctor, with the details of the post-mortem, who confirmed the possibility of foul play. He filed a murder complaint against the duo on June 4.