• Husband’s plan to kill wife goes awry
• Hired assassins assault wife, set house on fire; 3 arrested

Mysore/Mysuru: A man’s alleged plot to have his wife killed took a dramatic turn after the hired assailants attacked the wrong way, brutally assaulting the woman and setting fire to her room before fleeing the scene.

The incident occurred last night at B.M. Shree Nagar under the limits of the Metagalli Police Station.

Police arrested the husband and the two hired attackers in the early hours of today.

The incident: According to the Police, the incident took place around 7 pm at  residence of 46-year-old Nagarathna, located on the third floor of a building on 3rd Main, 14th Cross, B.M. Shree Nagar.

Nagarathna was alone at home when two men, wearing helmets, masks and gloves, forcibly entered the house. The assailants attacked her with weapons, causing serious injuries and then set fire to the room before fleeing the spot.

Residents in the area noticed the two men rushing out of the house and raised an alarm. When neighbours entered the house, they found Nagarathna lying in a pool of blood and immediately informed her husband, 44-year-old Mahesh, who was selling pani puri in a locality at the time.

Mahesh rushed to the spot and shifted his wife to a hospital, where she is currently undergoing treatment. He later lodged a complaint at the Metagalli Police Station.

Fire and Emergency Services personnel from the Bannimantap Fire Station rushed to the scene and managed to douse the flames before the fire could spread to other parts of the building.

Metagalli Police Inspector Arun and his team conducted a preliminary investigation at the spot, during which it emerged that two unidentified youths were involved in the assault and arson.

Husband’s handiwork

Police sources said that after Nagarathna regained consciousness at the hospital and during questioning, she expressed strong suspicion about her husband’s role in the attack.

When the Police questioned Mahesh, his inconsistent responses reportedly raised suspicion. Upon sustained interrogation, he confessed to hiring the attackers to kill his wife.

Following his confession, the Police formally arrested Mahesh and registered a case against him under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Supari of Rs. 5 lakh

Police investigation revealed that Mahesh had promised the assailants — Bhaskar and Abhishek, both from Virajpet in Kodagu district — a payment of Rs. 5 lakh if they succeeded in eliminating his wife, treating it as a ‘supari’ killing.

Police sources said the couple had no children and frequently quarrelled over issues related to the wife’s behaviour, the lack of children and financial disputes.

Using the information provided by Mahesh and based on phone records and signals recorded in mobile network towers, Metagalli Police traced and arrested the two hired assailants in the early hours between Tuesday and Wednesday, around 12.30 am.

City Police Commissioner Seema Latkar, DCP (Crime and Traffic) K.S. Sundar Raj, along with Dog Squad, Fingerprint Squad and Scene of Crime Officers, visited the crime scene today.