He was pani puri vendor; she was money lender

Mysore/Mysuru: During intense interrogation, Mahesh revealed that he had promised the assailants Rs. 5 lakh to eliminate his wife Nagarathna, as he was frustrated with frequent quarrels at home.

He claimed that despite earning a modest living selling pani puri, he was often humiliated and was constantly insulted in front of relatives and his friends by Nagarathna.

He also alleged that she lent his hard-earned money to others at interest, which frequently led to disputes between them.

Fed up with the situation, Mahesh said he decided to eliminate his wife and hired two men, Bhaskar and Abhishek, to carry out the crime.

He told interrogators that he was 44 years old while Nagarathna was 46, and that she dominated household decisions and the couple had no children.

Mahesh also revealed that he had befriended another woman and was waiting to formalise his relationship, after eliminating Nagarathna.

According to the Police, Mahesh told the assailants the location of his house and instructed them to first assault his wife and then leave the gas cylinders open before setting the house on fire, to make it look like a gas leak accident.

Police added that Mahesh had instructed the assailants to carry petrol as a backup in case the gas did not ignite.