BENGALURU: A 33-year-old man who had secretly married a young woman a year ago allegedly strangled her to death after learning that her parents were looking for a groom for her. The accused then staged the scene to resemble a mutual suicide attempt by consuming poison.
The incident took place on G Hosahalli Road in the Byadarahalli police station on Saturday. The deceased was Bhavani S, a resident of Tulasi Nagar and native of Magadi in Bengaluru South district. She was working as a billing executive at a mobile phone shop in Tigalarapalya. The accused, Chandrashekar, is an autorickshaw driver.
According to the police, on Saturday morning, Bhavani’s aunt called her mother and informed her that Bhavani had posted an Instagram story with a boy. To enquire about the photograph, her father, Srinivasa N, called her around 7.30 am.
Despite making multiple calls, there was no response. He then contacted the house owner and requested him to check on her. The house owner informed Srinivasa that someone appeared to be inside the house.
However, despite repeatedly knocking on the door, no one answered. He alerted the police, who rushed to the spot and found Bhavani lying dead, while Chandrashekar was found unconscious but still breathing. He was shifted to a nearby hospital, the police said.
The police added that there was a strong smell of a poisonous substance in the house. The same smell was emanating from both Bhavani and Chandrashekar. After receiving treatment, he was taken into police custody.
The probe revealed that Chandrashekhar and Bhavani had secretly married a year ago and had been living together without anyone’s knowledge. Recently, Bhavani learned that Chandrashekhar was already married and had a six-year-old child.
Hurt by this revelation, she informed her family about the situation. Her parents had even found a groom for her, and preparations were underway for her engagement, which was scheduled for the following week. After learning about this, Chandrashekhar came to her house on Saturday, where he had an argument with her. He allegedly told her, “I cannot live without you. We should either live together or die together.”
Enraged by her refusal, Chandrashekhar uploaded a photograph of their marriage on Instagram. Bhavani’s family members saw the photograph and contacted her over the phone. Realising that the matter had become known to everyone, Bhavani confronted Chandrashekhar, leading to another argument. During the altercation, Chandrashekhar allegedly strangled Bhavani to death.