How a throat wound exposed Karnataka woman’s role in her sister-in-law’s murder
The Chikkaballapur woman who claimed intruders killed her sister-in-law was arrested after the police said she conspired in the murder and staged a robbery scene.
The Chikkaballapur police said the Bhavya (left) plotted the murder with her cousin (bottom right). (Express Photo/Special Arrangement) Twenty-six-year-old Bhavya broke down in tears as she recounted how unknown intruders had allegedly attacked her and killed her sister-in-law, Pushpalatha, during a robbery at their home last week in Karnataka’s Chikkaballapur district.
Within 24 hours, however, the Chikkaballapur police concluded that the alleged victim was in fact one of the conspirators behind the murder.
The incident occurred in Chikkaballapur city, around 62 km from Bengaluru, on the night of May 28, when Pushpalatha, 23, the daughter-in-law of Narasimhamurthy, was found dead inside the family’s house, while Bhavya was discovered injured and unconscious.
The attack occurred when Narasimhamurthy, his wife Vijayalakshmi, and their son, Bharath, were on a trip. Pushpalatha and Bharath had been living separately due to family disputes.
According to Bhavya’s initial statement, a group of unidentified men had entered the house, stuffed cloth into her mouth and sprayed a substance on her face, causing her to lose consciousness. She claimed she had no knowledge of what happened to Pushpalatha after that.
While Pushpalatha was declared dead, Bhavya was admitted to the hospital for treatment. The following day, however, investigators began noticing inconsistencies in her account.
“During the probe, we found that there was no forced entry to the house, which raised our suspicion. There was a wound on the throat which was not deep enough, and post-mortem reports suggested that Pushpalatha was smothered. When Bhavya was questioned, she confessed to the crime,” Kushal Choksey, Superintendent of Police, Chikkaballapur, said.
Affair, blackmail and alleged murder plot
A police officer said Bhavya had been married to a man from Hoskote in Bengaluru Rural district, but she was in a relationship with another man. The officer said the man had recorded videos of their private moments and started demanding money from Bhavya.
The police said Bhavya later sought help from her cousin, Lohith, who convinced her that he would help her to delete the videos from her boyfriend’s phone. Bhavya shared the private videos with Lohith, but he allegedly began blackmailing her by threatening to make the clips public.
According to the police, Lohith extorted Rs 4 lakh on one occasion and Rs 2 lakh on another, before demanding more money. Investigators said Bhavya’s mother, Vijayalakshmi, was aware of the situation. Unable to meet Lohith’s demands, Bhavya allegedly decided to steal Pushpalatha’s mangalsutra.
The police said Bhavya called Lohith and instructed him to take the jewellery from Pushpalatha. Around the same time, Vijayalakshmi allegedly ensured that key family members, including Narasimhamurthy and Bharath, were away on a temple trip to Tamil Nadu.
As part of the plan, Bhavya invited Pushpalatha to stay overnight at the family home, saying that the other family members had gone to a temple.
Investigators said Lohith entered the house that night and suffocated the sleeping Pushpalatha with a pillow. After she died, he allegedly slit her throat with a knife and removed her mangalsutra and earrings to make the crime appear to be a robbery. The police said Bhavya tore her own clothes and staged an attack before pretending to lose consciousness.
While the police announced the arrests of Bhavya and Lohith Sunday, they said Vijayalakshmi is being questioned and is likely to be taken into custody. The police have ruled out the involvement of Bharath and Narasimhamurthy in the crime.
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