Karnataka: Kannada activist held for murder

BENGALURU: A small-time businessman, who is also a Kannada activist, has been arrested along with his relative for allegedly murdering his live-in partner. After the murder, they set the body on fire and later dumped the remains at Hemavathy Valley in Tumakuru.

The accused have been identified as Yogesh Kumar, a resident of JP Nagar, and his relative Gurulinga (40). The Thalagattapura police arrested them after gathering information from the relatives of the deceased, identified as Shilpa (38), a resident of Thippasandra.

The sister of the deceased, Kanakamma, filed a missing complaint at the Thalghattapura police station on March 29, saying Shilpa has gone missing since February 24. Yogesh and Shilpa were in a relationship for over eight years. The situation turned ugly when Shilpa started pestering Yogesh to marry her. Yogesh, with the help of his relative Gurulinga, strangled Shilpa to death on February 24. They carried the body in a car to Tumakuru and set it on fire.

Yogesh returned to the spot after 15 days, collected the remains of Shilpa’s body in a plastic cover and dumped it in Hemavathy Valley. With Kanakamma’s help, the police gathered clues about Yogesh. The police found that Shilpa was in constant touch with Yogesh and had spoken to him over phone even on the day of her mysterious disappearance. Yogesh confessed to the crime during interrogation, the police said.