Epileptic woman killed by husband, in-laws in Karnataka

Belagavi, May 24 (IANS) In a shocking incident in Karnataka's Belagavi district, an epileptic woman was allegedly killed by her husband and in-laws, who attempted to project it as an accident.

The accused, identified as Santhosh Honakande, a resident of Mallabad village near Athani town in Belagavi district, his father Kamanna Honakande, and his mother Jayashree Honakande, have been arrested.

The victim has been identified as Renuka Honakande, a graduate in Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS).

According to the police, Renuka's husband, Santhosh, a mechanical engineer, conspired to murder her, and his parents executed the plan.

As per the conspiracy, Jayashree took Renuka to Madubhavi village under the pretext of visiting a temple. They stayed there until evening and returned at night.

They got off the bus around four kilometres from their village, near the main road. Jayashree then called her husband Kamanna to pick them up on his motorcycle.

After travelling about a kilometre, Kamanna stopped the vehicle at an isolated spot. There, he and Jayashree strangled Renuka to death using her saree.

To make the murder appear accidental, they tied the body to the motorcycle and dragged it for approximately 200 metres along the road.

Subsequently, they called the Athani Police and claimed that Renuka had fallen from the bike and died. The police sent the body for a post-mortem, and the preliminary report revealed that the cause of death was suffocation, not injuries from a fall.

When the police questioned Kamanna, he eventually confessed to the crime.

Further interrogation confirmed the involvement of Jayashree, who was also arrested.

The investigation then uncovered that Santhosh had orchestrated the entire plan. He was later arrested as well.

According to the police, Santhosh and Renuka were married in 2020 and were reportedly happy for the first three years. Later, Santhosh discovered that Renuka was epileptic, which upset him. He was also distressed that she had not conceived a child.

During this period, Santhosh began an extramarital relationship with a woman in Maharashtra, where he was working.

Santosh started harassing Renuka, and his parents supported his behaviour, trying to force Renuka to leave the house on her own.

After his partner in Maharashtra became pregnant, Santhosh hatched a plan to eliminate Renuka.

In an attempt to avoid legal consequences, he had the murder carried out by his parents.

--IANS

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