A 27-year-old woman was allegedly strangled to death by her in-laws, who then tried to disguise the murder as an accidental death in an attempt to mislead the investigation, police said. The incident occurred on May 17 in Malabad village of Athani taluk, Belagavi district of Karnataka.
The deceased, Renuka, was married to Santosh Honakande, a software engineer. According to police, Santosh, along with his father Kamanna and mother Jayashree, has been arrested in connection with her murder.
Why did they conspire to kill her?
According to the ongoing investigation, Renuka was reportedly facing pressure from her in-laws due to her inability to conceive. This strained relationship took a darker turn when her husband, Santosh Honakande, allegedly married another woman, who is now pregnant.
Despite being sidelined and reportedly asked to leave the house, Renuka continued to stay in the same house. Eventually, Santosh, along with his parents allegedly conspired to kill Renuka.
Describing the case as a 'ghastly incident,' Belagavi Superintendent of Police (SP) Bheemashankar Guled said that the police first received a call from the father-in-law, who claimed that Renuka had died in a road accident.
Kamanna told the police that he was riding a motorcycle, with his wife Jayashree sitting as the first pillion rider and Renuka as the second.
"Renuka had been married to their son Santosh for five years. Unable to conceive due to a health condition, she remained in the house even after Santosh's second marriage. This led to ongoing pressure and, eventually, her murder," Guled said.
How murder was unfolded?
The police became suspicious upon arriving at the scene and promptly took Renuka's body to a hospital. Early Sunday morning, they launched an investigation and called Kamanna in for questioning. "During interrogation, Kamanna failed to give logical answers, raising suspicions. Eventually, he confessed to strangling Renuka," Guled said.
Explaining the sequence of events, the SP said Renuka had gone to a temple on Saturday evening. Her in-laws picked her up on a motorcycle. After travelling a short distance, they allegedly pushed her off the vehicle. When she survived the fall, they strangled her.
"They then tied her to the motorcycle using her saree and dragged her for about 120 feet to stage it as an accident," Guled said.
Within six hours, police confirmed it was a murder. All three accused—the husband, father-in-law, and mother-in-law—were arrested and remanded in judicial custody. The husband was also part of the conspiracy, and there were reports of dowry demands, the SP added.
(With PTI inputs)
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