Karnataka: Woman arrested for killing ‘lover’s’ wife, 4 children, say police

The accused was having an extra-marital affair with the victim Lakshmi's husband Gangaram, a plastic goods trader, and his refusal to marry her despite repeated efforts to convince him forced her to commit the crime, said the police

32-year-old Lakshmi is resident of Mysuru and a relative of the deceased woman

The Karnataka Police on Wednesday said it arrested a 32-year-old woman for allegedly killing four children and a 30-year-old woman in Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) area of Mandya district in the early hours of Sunday.

The arrested woman, a Mysuru resident identified as Lakshmi, is a cousin of the murdered woman, who is also named Lakshmi. Three of the victim’s children — Komala (8), Raj (10) and Kunal (5) — were also killed, as well as her nephew Govinda (13). Police said that according to their investigation, Lakshmi — the accused — was in a relationship with the victim’s husband, Gangaram, a plastic goods trader who had purportedly refused several entreaties by the accused to marry her. She is also married and has two children.

According to police, the accused came to Gangaram’s house on Sunday around 12.45 am on a two-wheeler and carrying a sickle. She then allegedly committed the murders and left. Gangaram, police said, was out of station at the time.

The next day, after the incident came to light, the accused purportedly visited the house again and was seen crying.

“We initially suspected Gangaram of the murders, but as of now, there is no evidence against him. He was in Hyderabad when the incident took place. But we came to know that Gangaram and Lakshmi were having an affair, and upon collecting information from local residents and analysing CCTV cameras near Gangaram’s house, we found that Lakshmi (the accused) was there late at night with her vehicle. When she was questioned, she admitted to the crime,” a police officer said.

Police also said that the accused had stolen some jewels from the house to make it look like the murders took place as part of a robbery. “However, because the children were also killed, we suspected that personal grudge was involved in this case. Because there was no forced entry into the house, we also suspected that someone known to the family was involved.”

According to police, the accused often visited Gangaram’s house. He, however, started avoiding her when she demanded that he marry her, police said. Gangaram’s wife had also purportedly warned her to stay away.

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Irked by the situation, the accused allegedly killed Gangaram’s wife by hitting her on the head and smothering her with a pillow. Two of the four children in the house woke up during the commotion and pleaded with the accused not to harm them, police said. But she allegedly killed them as well as the two other children who were asleep, police added. The accused then stole some jewels from the house before leaving before going back to Mysuru, according to police.

Police said they found the murder weapon from a canal, into which the accused had allegedly thrown it after the incident. The investigation is underway, police said, adding that they were looking into whether anyone else was directly or indirectly involved in the murders.

Gangaram’s family was originally from Rajasthan and started living in Mandya after migrating to Karnataka.

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