A 29-year-old man surrendered himself to the police on Friday, saying he had killed his stepmother over a property dispute.
Anekal police were shocked when T Mahesh Gowda from Bidaraguppe village walked into the police station around 8 am with bloodstained clothes and a machete.
Upon police inquiries, Mahesh admitted to having killed his stepmother Narayanamma, the second wife of his father Tatappa.
About the same time, police also received information about the murder from the residents of Nallayyanadoddi near Anekal on the southern outskirts of Bengaluru.
“We’ve detained the suspect and have seized the machete,” said a police officer.
Mahesh said in his confessional statement to the police that his mother Amaravati had left the Nallayyanadoddi village decades ago after his father married Narayanamma.
Amaravati had since lived in Bidaraguppe with Mahesh and her daughter Mamatha, while Narayanamma and Tatappa had settled down in Nallayyanadoddi with their son Bharath.
Narayanamma managed to get the two-acre land owned by Tatappa near Jigani in her name and was trying to sell the property.
Getting wind of the sale, Mahesh filed a complaint with the revenue officials against her move.
But Mahesh and Narayanamma decided to settle the property issue by mutual agreement. But when Mahesh asked Rs 5 lakh, Narayanamma refused and instead offered only Rs 1 lakh.
Enraged by this, Mahesh then decided to eliminate his stepmother.
Narayanamma was found dead near her house at 7 am. Mahesh had hacked her to death with the machete, a police official said. Anekal police have registered a murder case against Mahesh and are probing the case further.