Boyfriend’s tip to Karnataka Police reveals plot to pass off govt employee’s murder as heart attack, sister and her son arrested

Motive of murder

The police said the government employee was murdered for gain. According to them, Jayalakshmi was married to a Physical Education teacher, but the man died within three years of their marriage. Thereafter, she had a live-in relationship with a cable operator, Srinivas, who is a bachelor.

Meanwhile, Jayalakshmi’s sister Anusuya, who worked as a staff nurse at a private hospital, separated from her husband, and it became hard for her to take care of her son Chennakeshava. Jayalakshmi ‘adopted’ Chennakeshava and took care of his education and other expenses. He also completed a Diploma in Lab Technician course and started working at a private hospital.

The police, however, said there are no records to prove that Jayalakshmi had legally adopted Chennakeshava.

About eight months ago, Anusuya and Chennakeshava quit their jobs and moved into Jayalakshmi’s home in Tumakuru’s Chikkanayakanahalli, where Jayalakshmi’s long-term companion Srinivas also resided.

The arrival of the mother and son set off a chain of conflict. The duo reportedly resented Srinivas’s presence and eventually pressured him to leave the house. But after Jayalakshmi decided to join Srinivas and even paid an advance to lease a home in Turuvekere, Anusuya and Chennakeshava planned the murder.

The police said Anusuya and Chennakeshava feared that Jayalakshmi would stop financing them and transfer all her money and property to Srinivas. They also planned to seek a government job on compassionate grounds after Jayalakshmi’s death.

A police officer said, “Jayalakshmi lost her husband when she was just 25 years old. For more than two decades, Srinivas stayed with her and took care of her very well. Anusuya assumed that Jayalakshmi would transfer the property and retirement fund to Srinivas, so she killed her.”

As per the police, the two accused entered Jayalakshmi’s bedroom after dinner on Thursday night and smothered her with a pillow. Thereafter, they told other family members that Jayalakshmi died of a heart attack. The two transported the body to Kantalakere by the next morning, and were arranging a hurried funeral to conceal the crime when the police nabbed them.

The police also said the murder came to light after Srinivas learnt about the sudden death of Jayalakshmi and told the Chikkanayakanahalli police station that he suspected foul play, following which a police team rushed to Kantalakere and stopped the final rites.

Anusuya and Chennakeshava have been sent to judicial custody.