CHITRADURGA: Five human skeletons have been found in an abandoned house on Old Bengaluru Road near Challakere Gate here. The police, who found three skeletons on Thursday night, found two more in another room of the house on Friday morning.
The house belonged to retired executive engineer Jagannath Reddy, 80, who hailed from Dodda Siddavvanahalli in Chitradurga taluk. Apart from Jagannath Reddy, his wife Premakka, their daughter Triveni, and sons Krishna Reddy and Narendra Reddy lived in the house, the police said.
The police suspect that the skeletons might be of these persons. However, this will be confirmed only after a thorough examination by the Forensic Science Laboratory. Jagannath Reddy’s family members lived in Tumakuru and Chitradurga and they were not on good terms with their relatives. After the death of Jagannath Reddy’s elder son Dr Manjunatha Reddy, his family members shuttled between Tumakuru and Chitradurga, said a close relative of Jagannath Reddy.
Devaraj, a resident of the locality, said that he along with a few others saw some stray dogs entering the house on Thursday morning. Later, they found a skull outside the house and immediately alerted the police. A police team led by DySP P Anilkumar visited the house after Pavan Kumar, a relative of Jagannath Reddy, lodged a complaint. During the search, the police team also found a dog’s skeleton. FSL experts were summoned from Davanagere to examine the skeletons.
Four of C’durga family had serious health issues: Relative
It is learnt that four members of the family had serious health issues and were under medication. Triveni had a spinal cord problem and was bedridden. The police recovered an electricity bill that was paid in January 2019. The power was disconnected later, as bills were not paid. A bill showing arrears of Rs 2,850 has also been recovered.
The police team also recovered a note from the house and suspected that Jagannath Reddy and his family members might have consumed poison. Pawan Kumar said, “Jagannath Reddy’s family kept away from us. We never went to their home. The skeletons might be of Jagannath Reddy and his family members. They might have died a few years ago.”
Devaraj said though Krishna Reddy alias Babu Reddy was his friend, he nor other members of the family mingled with locals. The family members only came out to purchase vegetables and other essentials.
SP Dharmendar Kumar Meena said, “We have recovered five skeletons from the house. The main door was found broken and many people might have entered the house.”
He said the skeletons were sent to Basaveshwara Hospital in Chitradurga for tests.