Woman, lover and mother held for murdering husband in Karnataka after son reveals truth

The woman had cooked up a story that her husband had died after injuring his head in a fall due to an epileptic attack
Image used for representational purposes
Image used for representational purposes

BENGALURU: The Doddaballapura Town police have arrested a woman, her lover and her mother for allegedly murdering her husband. The woman had cooked up a story that her husband had died after injuring his head in a fall due to an epileptic attack. However, the story fell flat after her 10-year-old son narrated the incident to his father's relatives.

The deceased has been identified as Raghavendra (40), a resident of Karenahalli in Doddaballapura Town and a weaver by profession. The police have arrested his wife Shylaja, her lover Hanumantha, both working in a garment factory, and her mother Lakshmidevamma.

Police said Shylaja had called her husband's younger brother Chandrashekhar in the wee hours of December 27 and told him that her husband had passed away as he suffered an epileptic attack and fell, injuring his head. Trusting her words, Raghavendra's family members had cremated the body the same evening.

"Shylaja and her two kids had moved to Chandrashekhar's house after Raghavendra's death. When Chandrashekhar asked the boy what had happened that night, the boy just said he was sleeping but heard some unknown male voice in the house. This led to suspicion among the family members of the deceased. They went to check footage of Raghavendra's house from a CCTV camera installed by the factory where he worked," said a police official.

"It revealed that a man was going inside the house. When they confronted Shylaja, she claimed there was a fight and she hit her husband with a rolling pin and left him outside and did not know what happened later. After they began to suspect her, she left for her parents' house and did not attend the 11th day ritual of her husband," he added.

The family members again asked the boy what exactly happened that night and he revealed that his father was pinned down by his mother and grandmother while a stranger was hitting his father's head with a rolling pin until he died. As the boy screamed, the stranger hit him with the rolling pin and threatened to kill him if he told anyone about the incident.

"The same day, the family members went to the house where Raghavendra lived and opened the door to find bloodstains on the walls. On January 7, a formal complaint was filed following which Shylaja, her mother and her lover were arrested. They confessed that they had committed the murder as Raghavendra was objecting to their illicit relationship and was a hurdle between them," the police added.

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The New Indian Express
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