82-yr-old woman beaten to death in old age home; owner, staff try to cover it up

An elderly woman was allegedly murdered by a fellow inmate at an old-age home in North Bengaluru earlier this month. The owner and the staff tried to cover it up by portraying it an accident. Police have now arrested five suspects.

The arrested include Vasantha, 54, an inmate at the home; Yogesh, the owner of the Usuru Foundation, a staffer named Bhaskar R K and two others namely, Nohajohn Martin alias John and Manju.

On March 9, Kamalamma, 82, a resident of Banashankari Layout, was admitted to the old age home in Nagarabhavi. Her son Ramachandra G K paid Rs 10,000 per month for her maintenance. About 20 days ago, Kamalamma was allegedly shifted to the home’s Yeshwantpur branch without her son's knowledge.

Kamalamma was put up in a room with Vasantha and another woman.

Ramachandra told the police that at about 5 pm on August 7, Yogesh called him to inform that his mother was critical. Ramachandra, who was in Kolar at the time, rushed to the home at 8 pm but did not find his mother in the room. He found bloodstains in the next room which someone tried cleaning.

Later, Yogesh informed him that his mother was in the ambulance. Ramachandra found her with injuries to the head, close to the ears and hands. He suspected that the staff killed his mother.

Police investigation revealed that the home staff had lodged the three women in a room since all are mentally disturbed. They locked them up and did not provide food for a day. The inmates were further disturbed due to hunger. In a fit of rage, Vasantha hit Kamalamma with a chair. Finding her dead, Yogesh wanted to cover up the murder and called Ramachandra to tell him she was critical. The suspects tried to mop up the bloodstains and made it appear as if Kamalamma had fallen accidentally.

However, police investigation and the autopsy report confirmed that Kamalamma was beaten to death.