Karnataka contractor’s search drama: How a ‘grieving’ husband buried wife in courtyard and fooled a town for 24 days

Ratnakar stated to the police he had searched for his wife at several places, including relatives’ houses, but in vain.

The police registered a missing person’s case and launched an investigation. They said tracking Sarojini’s mobile phone was of no help as the device was in their house itself.

“We found out that Ratnakar was in severe debt and there were cheque bounce cases. But Ratnakar was also searching for his wife relentlessly. He had hired a car and gone to Bengaluru searching for Sarojini. We were in touch with the car driver to understand the locations where he was searching for Sarojini,” said a police officer.

The police said that the breakthrough came when it was found that Ratnakar, while in Bengaluru, stayed in lodges and never stepped out to search for his wife. “The driver passed us information frequently, raising suspicion,” the police officer said.

Raising suspicions further, Ratnakar did not turn up when Sarojini’s ailing father died in Devara Hipparagi town on February 14. Ratnakar was thus taken for interrogation, and he confessed to the crime, the officer said.

According to the police, the couple had a fight on January 23 after Ratnakar sought money from Sarojini to bail him out of a crisis.

“When she refused, he hit her with a wooden log, and Sarojini died instantly. At the time, their son, Puttaraju, was sleeping in the house. Ratnakar had already dug a small portion of land within the compound to plant some plants, and he scooped out more mud and buried Sarojini’s dead body in the pit,” the police officer said.

The police said that the contractor informed Sarojini’s relatives that she had gone missing and launched a “search” after 10 am, more than five hours after he buried the body.

“It is just a 5×3 feet space where the body was buried. It was exhumed and handed over to Sarojini’s family members. Based on the complaint filed by Sarojini’s mother, Kamalavva Maleppa Melinamani, the police have registered a murder case at Devara Hipparagi police station, and investigations are underway,” said the officer.