Kerala woman, kid, gold vanish from Kerala home – trail ends with gruesome lodge killing in Karnataka

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A police probe into the theft of 30 sovereigns of gold and Rs 5 lakh from a house in Kalliad, Kannur in Kerala on Friday took a shocking turn when 22-year-old Darshitha, the daughter-in-law of the family, was found murdered in a Mysuru lodge the next day.

Police said her boyfriend, Siddaraju B N (22), killed her at Bherya village in Saligrama taluk on Saturday, The Indian Express reported.

On Friday, K C Sumathi, a resident of Kalliad village in Kerala’s Kannur district, returned home from work to find her house unlocked and deserted, with 30 sovereigns of gold and Rs 5 lakh in cash missing.

Also, her daughter-in-law, Darshitha, originally from Hunsur in Karnataka, and her two-year-old granddaughter were nowhere to be found.

“Normally, the key is kept under the doormat if someone locks the door and leaves when the others are not there. On Friday, when Sumathi returned home, the key was missing and the door was not locked. When she entered the house, she found the cash and gold missing,” a family relative was quoted by The Indian Express as saying.

According to Sumathi, Darshitha had allegedly mentioned that she wanted to visit her parents in Hunsur, Karnataka.

When Sumathi tried to call her, there was no response. After repeated attempts, a man briefly answered the phone but disconnected the call. Sumathi then informed the police about both the missing family members and the theft.

Upon investigation, police in Karnataka informed their counterparts in Kerala on Sunday that Darshitha had been found murdered in a lodge at Saligrama near Mysuru. Her young daughter, however, was safe and had been left at her maternal grandparents’ home.

Karnataka Police arrested a man named Siddaraju, who they said had been in a long-term relationship with Darshitha.

According to the police, Siddaraju had been planning the crime for some time. He allegedly used explosive substances to create a small blast inside the lodge room, which killed Darshitha.

The two had checked into the lodge on Saturday afternoon, but within minutes, Siddaraju rushed downstairs claiming that the woman had injured herself and needed help. When the staff went upstairs, they found her lying in a pool of blood and immediately alerted police.

Siddaraju initially tried to mislead the police, saying that Darshitha’s mobile phone had exploded while charging, causing her death.

However, police soon found that he had access to explosives through his work and had deliberately used them to kill her.

Police informed that during questioning, Siddaraju confessed that he and Darshitha had been in love long before her marriage to Subash, a driver working in the Middle East.

Their relationship had continued after her marriage. Police suspect an argument between the two may have triggered the murder.

Meanwhile, the valuables reported missing from the Kannur house have not yet been recovered. Kerala Police have registered a theft case but have not named anyone as an accused so far.

“We are waiting to get custody of Siddaraju for questioning. The motive behind the crime is still not clear,” The Indian Express quoted Rajesh Ayotan, Station House Officer of Irikkur as saying.