Bengaluru: Live-in couple murder accused held

BENGALURU: A day after the murder of a live-in couple in the city, the police on Monday arrested Hanumantharaya (27) for allegedly killing his sister and her boyfriend. The couple was found murdered in their rented house in Vinayak Nagar on Sunday morning.

Hanumantharaya was caught from a house in Doddaballapura near the railway station as he was planning to escape to his hometown. He told the police that he was planning to go to his hometown and hide at his relative’s house.

The police traced him based on his mobile phone calls. He told the police that he was trying to find his sister Kasthuri and her boyfriend, Basavaraju, for a long time, until he found them living in Vinayaka Nagar in Hesaraghatta, and hacked them to death. Hanumanthraya told the police that though Kasthuri had been married twice, she had run away with Basavaraju humiliating him and his family.

He visited the couple’s house and tried to convince them to get married, but Basavaraju refused and insisted on continuing with the live-in relationship. He then asked Kasthuri to return home, but she did not want to. Though livid with anger, Hanumantharaya waited till the couple slept, slit their throats and fled from their house.