Woman dies of ‘heart attack’ in Bengaluru; daughter-in-law, paramour held after WhatsApp chats reveal murder plan

Lakshmamma, who owned multiple properties in west Bengaluru, was found dead in her bathroom on October 5. She lived with her son S Manjunathand and daughter-in-law Rashmi Manjunath.

The last rites of Lakshmamma were conducted the next day at the family’s village in the Kunigal region of neighbouring Tumkur district.

On October 13, Manjunath told the police that he had accessed WhatsApp chats and voice recordings on Akshay’s mobile phone. He said the conversations indicated that Lakshmamma’s death was a murder.

On October 15, the accused were arrested by the police after preliminary investigations. Later, it was revealed that Lakshmamma’s daughter-in-law Rashmi had mixed sleeping pills in her meal, resulting in the woman falling asleep in the living room of the house.

Rashmi then called Akshay and his friend Purushotham to the residence. The duo then reportedly strangled Lakshmamma and left her in the bathroom to pass the death off as a case of heart attack.

“The investigations and the interrogation of the accused also revealed that Rashmi had complained to Akshay of being harassed due to monetary issues and other family matters. The two of them subsequently planned out the murder,” the Bengaluru west division police said on Tuesday in a statement.