Surrenders before Police 20 days after partner’s murder
Mysuru: An elderly man, who allegedly strangled his partner after suspecting her fidelity, remained absconding for nearly 20 days before walking into the Alanahalli Police Station on Aug. 1 and surrendering, claiming he was tormented by guilt.
Since the crime had not been committed within their jurisdiction, the Alanahalli Police handed over the accused to the Mysuru South Police for further investigation.
The deceased has been identified as Jyothi (40), a resident of Agasanapura village in Malavalli. The accused is 64-year-old Siddaraju, an auto driver from Kanakapura. It is learnt that Siddaraju and Jyothi were relatives.
The two had been living in a rented house at Ashraya Layout in Bhugathahalli on Bannur Road. Police said Jyothi’s husband had died about 10 years ago, following which Siddaraju developed a relationship with her. He later brought her to Mysuru, rented a house at Ashraya Layout and the two had been residing there.
Crime on July 13
According to the Police, Jyothi had lately been ignoring Siddaraju and would often stay at her parents’ house for several days, leading to frequent quarrels between the two.
On July 13, the couple reportedly picked up another quarrel. As the argument escalated, Siddaraju allegedly smothered Jyothi with a pillow in a fit of rage before fleeing the house.
Nearly three weeks later, Siddaraju walked into Alanahalli Police Station, confessed and surrendered. Since the incident had occurred within the limits of Mysuru South Police Station, Alanahalli Police handed him over to jurisdictional Police.
Following his confession, the Mysuru South Police took Siddaraju to the rented house at Ashraya Layout and asked the house owner, D. Krishna, to come to the premises.
Highly decomposed state
When the house owner arrived, he found the windows shut, a foul smell emanating from the house and swarms of flies near the windows.
The owner informed the Police that he had a spare key. He brought it from his residence and opened the door, only to be greeted by a strong stench from inside the house. During a search, the Police found Jyothi’s highly decomposed body hidden beneath a cot.
House owner Krishna told the Police that Siddaraju had rented the house for a monthly rent of Rs. 4,000 after paying an advance of Rs. 50,000. He had handed over the keys to Siddaraju on July 10, though the rental talks took place a month ago.
He further said Siddaraju had submitted his Aadhaar card for preparing the rental agreement. However, the agreement could not be executed as Siddaraju had been missing for 15 to 20 days.
The owner also told the Police that despite repeated phone calls, Siddaraju’s mobile phone remained switched off and whenever he visited the house, he found it locked. A case has been registered based on the complaint by the house owner.
The Mysuru South Police conducted a mahazar, shifted the body to the MMC&RI mortuary for post-mortem, registered a case and remanded Siddaraju to judicial custody.
This post was published on August 4, 2026 7:30 pm