Bengaluru: Man kills wife, cooks up suicide story

Bengaluru: A 33-year-old man, who murdered his wife and cooked up a suicide story, was arrested by the Kodigehalli police on Thursday. The man allegedly slit her throat after an argument ensued over her alleged extra-marital affair.

The accused has been identified as Narayana Reddy, a lorry owner. He was married to Vijayalakshmi, 23, who was working as a receptionist in The 9th Month women’s healthcare centre in Sahakaranagar. The couple who were married about four years ago had a three-year-old son, Diganth. The couple was residing in Byatarayanapura near Sahakaranagar.

According to the police, Vijayalakshmi celebrated her birthday with her family members on Wednesday. In the night, the couple continued the celebrations and consumed alcohol together. In the morning, Reddy called his father in law Govindaiah and sister-in-law who were staying in the next house saying that Vijayalakshmi had locked herself up in her room and was not responding. As she did not reply even when her father and sister called her, they broke open the door and were shocked to see her lying dead in a pool of blood.

“Reddy explained to her father that she might have committed suicide as he refused to take her on a jolly ride. He misled them saying that they both were consuming beer in the night and at around 12.30 am, she asked him to take her out on a ride but he refused as the bike insurance had lapsed. However, she reportedly forced him to take her out but her husband did not pay heed. Upset over this, she had locked herself in her room and had taken the extreme step. Believing him, the victim’s father had filed a case stating it was a suicide,” the police said.

The murder came to light when the doctors who conducted that post mortem observed that the injury marks on the neck of the victim could not be due to suicide and strongly suspected it was a murder. Based on the doctor’s opinion, the police picked up Reddy for questioning. When thoroughly grilled, Reddy reportedly admitted to the murder.

“He revealed that while the couple was consuming beer, an argument ensued between them over Vijayalakshmi allegedly having an affair with one, Mahesh. In a fit of rage, Reddy slit her throat in the room and locked it from inside. Later, he managed to come out of the bedroom through a small opening connected with the kitchen and slept in the drawing room. In the morning, he brought his in-laws and cooked up a story that she had committed suicide for not taking her on a jolly ride,” the police explained.