Tumakuru Police have arrested a dentist and his two accomplices for the murder of his mother-in-law, days after her severed head and dismembered body parts were found stuffed in plastic bags in different places at Kolala village in Koratagere.
The accused—Dr Ramachandrappa, Satish K.N. and Kiran K.S.—are all residents of Tumakuru.
The partially decomposed body parts of the woman were found on August 7, prompting police to form multiple probe teams to crack the case.
After the preliminary investigation, the victim was identified as Lakshmi Devi (42), who had been reported missing by her husband, Basavaraj. According to reports, she remained untraceable after she left her daughter Tejasvi’s home in Hanumantapura on August 3.
The first breakthrough in the case came after police noticed that a white sports utility vehicle with different number plates in front and back had travelled from Hanumantapura to Koratagere through the area where the body parts were recovered, reported the Times of India.
Police found that the vehicle belonged to Satish. They detained him, along with his friend Kiran, from the Horanadu temple in Chikkamagaluru district. The duo were taken to Tumakuru for further interrogation.
A detailed investigation revealed that Satish had sold the SUV to Ramachandrappa around six months ago, but had not updated the ownership name in the registration certificate.
Police took the dentist into custody, and in a detailed interrogation, the trio confessed to the crime. According to the TOI report, Ramachandrappa had begun planning for the murder six months ago and roped in Satish and Kiran with promises of Rs 14 lakh each.
What’s the motive?
Police said 47-year-old Ramachandrappa was in his second marriage to Lakshmi Devi’s daughter, who is 20 years younger than him. He, however, had doubts over Lakshmi Devi's character and even alleged that she was pressuring her daughter into the flesh trade.
The couple have a three-year-old daughter, and the dentist feared that Lakshmi Devi would destroy his family. So, he hatched a plot with Satish and Kiran, and strangled his mother-in-law to death inside the SUV.
According to police, the body was dismembered by the accused at Satish’s farmland in Kolala and later dumped in different locations in the village.