Representative image.
Credit: iStcok Photo
Shivamogga: The Old Town police have arrested an ayurvedic doctor on charges of murdering his uncle and aunt by administering an anesthesia injection within 24 hours of the incident.
According to police, the arrested has been identified as GP Mallesh (44), a resident of B Beeranahalli near Holehonnur in Bhadravathi taluk.
The bodies of Chandrappa (78) and Jayamma (75), a couple from Bhootanagudi in Bhadravathi town, were found in their house. Chandrappa was found dead in the hall and Jayamma in the room while they were in a state of sleep.
The police, who had registered a case of suspicious death, had started an investigation led by DySP Prakash Rathod.
Chandrappa, a retired employee of Visvesvaraya Iron & Steel Plant in Bhadravathi town, stayed with his wife at Bhootanagudi area. Their three sons were living separately in Shivamogga and Bhadravathi.
The accused Mallesh is the son of the younger brother of Chandrappa. Mallesh, who used to come and go home frequently, was working in a hospital in Shivamogga. It is learnt that he was recently fired from his job due to misconduct.
Mallesh, who was in huge debt, had asked uncle Chandrappa to lend a loan of Rs 15 lakh to repay it. But his uncle refused to give. Angered by this, the accused decided to murder the couple and rob them of the money and hatched a systematic plan.
The couple was suffering from knee pain due to age factor and had said that he would give them an injection to relieve from pain. The couple had agreed to get the injection since he was a doctor.
Mallesh, who had come home on Monday afternoon, gave both of them a large dose of propofol (50 mg) of anesthesia, which caused the couple to die instantly due to a drop in blood pressure. The accused then fled after stealing the jewellery and cash from the cupboard in the house. The accused, who had mortgaged the gold ornaments and repaid the loan with the money he received, deposited the remaining amount in his bank account.
Police say Mallesh was inspired by the act of a doctor at Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru who had given his wife a large amount of medicine and murdered her in the past.
Cash reward for police-SP
Superintendent of B Nikhil said,during the spot inspection, there was no sign of anyone forcibly entering the house. In addition, the couple's medical report file was kept on the table. Based on that evidence, the Bhadravathi police, who conducted the investigation, did a commendable job of identifying and arresting the accused even before the post-mortem report arrived. A cash reward will be given to the investigation team, he announced.
The police are investigating how much gold ornaments were stolen from the house and who gave him, such a quantity of anesthesia, the SP said.