A 56-year-old woman from Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru district has been arrested for allegedly conspiring with her paramour to murder her husband, whose dismembered body was discovered near railway tracks over two months after he was reported missing, police said on Monday.
According to a report by The Indian Express, Meenakshamma was sent to judicial custody alongside her 33-year-old boyfriend, Pradeep and his two associates, Siddesh and Vishwas.
The victim, 60-year-old tailor Subramanya, was her husband.
The case began to unravel on June 2 when Meenakshamma approached the Kadur police station to file a missing person’s report.
She claimed her husband had not returned home from his tailoring shop in Kadur town since May 31 and that she had waited and inquired with his friends before alerting authorities.
The investigation took a grim turn the following day when railway police discovered a half-burnt leg on the tracks near Kadur station.
A subsequent search by police and local residents led to the recovery of other body parts in the vicinity.
A critical breakthrough came from CCTV footage obtained from near Subramanya’s shop. The footage, as per The Indian Express report, showed the victim getting into a car with Pradeep, Siddesh and Vishwas on the evening of May 31.
“We picked up the three men and they spilled the beans during questioning. On June 8, we produced them before a court and recorded their arrest,” an investigating officer was quoted by The Indian Express as saying.
The men allegedly admitted to killing Subramanya and disposing of his body, confirming the identity of the remains found.
They described luring Subramanya into their car under the pretext of buying alcohol.
After drinking at an isolated spot near Sakrepatna, Pradeep allegedly strangled the man while he was inebriated.
Their attempt to burn the body failed, police said.
The remains were then dumped, with a stray dog later dragging one leg onto the railway tracks.
Initially, Meenakshamma’s performance of grief shielded her from suspicion.
“She appeared to be inconsolable on learning of her husband’s death,” an officer recounted, as per The Indian Express. However, the statements of the arrested men soon pointed to her involvement as the mastermind.
The investigation faced a hurdle as the Call Detail Records (CDR) of Meenakshamma and Pradeep showed no direct contact for six months. But police discovered she frequently called and messaged a number registered to Pradeep’s mother.
A technical probe revealed Pradeep was actually using that SIM card, providing a vital link between the conspirators and leading to her arrest.
According to the police account, the motive for the murder was rooted in a four-year-long affair between Meenakshamma and Pradeep, who was also in the tailoring business.
After her husband discovered the relationship, she allegedly instructed her paramour to kill him. Police confirmed the couple are parents to two married daughters and have grandchildren.
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