Karnataka   

Newly wed software engineer arrested for murdering wife

BANGALORE: Software engineer S. Manoj Kumar was forced by his family into an arranged marriage although he was involved with someone else. Three months into the marriage, his bride, Lakshmi, also a software engineer, had to pay the ultimate price. She was beaten to death. And the suspected killer: her husband.

On Thursday, the HAL Airport police took Manoj Kumar into custody as they found inconsistencies in his version of events. The police said he broke down during interrogation and confessed to the murder.

On November 7, Kumar, a resident of Vinayak Nagar near HAL Airport, lodged a complaint with the police that when he came home from work he found his wife Lakshmi murdered and that jewellery estimated at Rs. 30,000 was missing. The police initially suspected murder for gain.

During routine questioning of Kumar’s colleagues, the police came upon leading facts. Kumar had apparently reached office at 9 a.m. that morning, gone home in the afternoon and not returned to work.

“We found this suspicious,” city Police Commissioner Shankar M. Bidari told journalists here.

According to the police, Kumar confessed to a relationship with a resident of C.V. Raman Nagar, which he continued even after marriage, and that he had married Lakshmi on being pressured by his family because his girlfriend was of a different caste.

Asked why he had to kill his bride, the police quoted Kumar as having said that he did not like her and that his girlfriend was more caring.

On November 7, according to his confession, Kumar threw chilli powder on Lakshmi’s face. When she turned around to wash it, he put on his gloves and bludgeoned her on the back of the head with an iron rod.

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