Four arrested in two cases

Mysore/Mysuru: The Mysuru District Police have solved two separate cases pertaining to murder and cheating and have arrested four accused in this regard. 

Addressing a press meet at his office here this morning, Superintendent of Police (SP) R. Chethan said that the Police have solved a murder case of a man by arresting his wife and her paramour.

The accused are Uma and her paramour Avinash. Giving details about the case, the SP said that on Oct. 10, 2020, one H.T. Ravindra, son of late Tirumalaiah and a resident of Honaganahalli village, Kasaba hobli in Mandya district, had lodged a complaint at Bannur Police Station expressing doubts over his brother H.T. Venkataraju’s death.

In his complaint, Ravindra had stated that his brother Venkataraju was married to Uma of Ballekere village in Srirangapatna taluk 10 years ago and the couple have an eight-year-old daughter and six-year-old son. About four years ago, when Uma was in her parents’ house, her relatives Vinod and Pramod had assaulted Venkataraju physically and hence Venkataraju was not going to his in-law’s house.

But on Oct. 9 at about 6.30 pm, Venkataraju had called his younger brother Rajesh and had informed him that he (Venkataraju) was going to the house of Uma’s grandmother at Hunasegalli in T. Narasipur taluk. Again at 10.30 pm, Vinod gives a call to Rajesh saying that Venkataraju was suffering from giddiness and 10 minutes later, Pramod calls Ravindra and informs him that Venkataraju had died.

Expressing doubts over Venkataraju’s death, Ravindra had lodged a complaint with Bannur Police, who had registered a case of unnatural death and had sent the body of Venkataraju for post-mortem.

After the post-mortem report said that the death was due to ‘Vaso vagal shock as a result of Blunt force injury to the scrotum sustained,’ Bannur Police re-registered the case as murder and took up the investigation.

Meanwhile, SP R. Chethan had instructed Additional SP Shivakumar and Nanjangud Sub-Division DSP V. Govindaraju to form a team to nab the accused following which a Police team, comprising Bannur Inspector B. Chikkarajashetty, Sub-Inspector Kusuma and staff, was formed.

The Police team took Venkataraju’s wife Uma into custody and subjected her to interrogation during which she (Uma) is said to have told the Police that there was an age difference of 20 years between her and her husband Venkataraju and suspecting her character, Venkataraju used to assault her.

When Uma went to her parents’ house for her second child’s post delivery care, she had developed illicit relationship with her neighbour Avinash and after postnatal care at her parents’ house, she does not go to her husband’s place despite Venkataraju telling her that he would take a house on rent at Mandya. Uma then hatches a plot along with Avinash to eliminate Venkataraju. 

On Oct. 9, 2020, Uma summons Venkataraju to her grandmother’s house, where she spikes his coffee with sedatives and when Venkataraju went to sleep after consuming the coffee, Uma, along with Avinash, hit Venkataraju’s private parts and smoothers him to death with a pillow, the SP said. After Uma revealed the crime, the Police traced Avinash and arrested him.

While Uma has been remanded to judicial custody, Avinash is remanded to Police custody for further questioning, the SP added.

Husband, wife arrested for cheating public

Giving details about the second case, SP Chethan said that the Police have arrested a couple for cheating public.

The arrested are 29-year-old Bhagya alias Sowbhagya alias Sowmya and her husband 30-year-old Prasad. While Bhagya was arrested near Somanahalli village in Maddur, Prasad was arrested at Angala village in Gundlupet taluk.

Details: On July 6, 2021, one Suresh, a Sales Executive at a private gold finance company at Agrahara in city, receives a call from a woman, who identifies herself as Sowmya.

The woman tells Suresh that she had pledged 50 grams gold ornaments for Rs. 1.75 lakh at a pawn shop in Saligrama and tells Suresh that she was willing to sell the gold items to his gold company if he gets it released from the pawn shop.

Suresh then goes to Saligrama, where he meets Sowmya and another person, who receives Rs. 1.75 lakh cash from Suresh to release the gold but had gone absconding following which a complaint was lodged at Saligrama Police Station.

Following instructions from SP Chethan, a Police team comprising Saligrama Inspector R. Srikanth and staff was formed, which arrested the couple.

During interrogation, the accused are said to have confessed of committing the crime at many places in Mysuru, Chamarajanagar and Mandya districts.

Following their arrest, the Police have solved one case each at Yelwal, H.D. Kote and Saligrama Police Stations and two cases in Kesthur Police Station.