The Bengaluru police said Wednesday they have converted an Unnatural Death Report (UDR) registered at Rajarajeshwari Nagar police station into a murder case and arrested the victim’s husband and his friend, after the post-mortem examination of the deceased hinted at foul play.
The case pertains to the death of Asha S, 28, a native of Kunigal taluk of Tumkur district. The arrested duo have been identified as Virupaksha, 29, husband of Asha, and Virupaksha’s close friend, Pundaleek Gnaynappa Lamani, 19.
According to the complaint filed on January 10 by Asha’s brother, Arun Kumar, the couple had a love marriage six years ago, and they had been living in Bengaluru since then.
The complainant alleged that from the early days of the marriage, Virupaksha did not take proper care of Asha S, and also depended on her income. He further stated that marital disputes arose over the husband’s alleged illicit relationship, following which the couple had been living separately for about one-and-a-half months. A divorce petition had also been filed in the Family Court, and the matter was pending trial.
On January 10, Asha was found dead inside her house in Rajarajeshwari Nagar. Suspecting foul play, her family approached the police, following which a UDR was registered, and an investigation was initiated.
The body was subjected to a post-mortem examination at Victoria Hospital on January 11. In their report, doctors expressed suspicion over the cause of death and furnished a detailed medical opinion to the investigating officers. Based on these findings, the police intensified the probe.
“Upon receiving the information on January 10, we registered a UDR the same day. After the post-mortem report raised suspicion, a PSI filed an FIR for murder, and the accused were arrested the following day, January 15,” an officer said.
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During interrogation, both accused allegedly confessed to their involvement in the case, the police said.
The accused were produced before the jurisdictional court on January 15 and remanded in eight days of police custody. Further investigation is underway.
