Man sedates wife, then injects her with pesticide

A data entry operator allegedly drugged his wife with sleeping pills before injecting her with a pesticide that eventually killed her.

Police arrested Venkatesh G, 30, a native of Ijoor near Ramanagar, following a complaint from his father-in-law.

Police said Venkatesh gave his wife, Deepa T, 24, sleeping pills after she complained of a headache on Monday night. She fell asleep soon after. He then dashed to a fertiliser store and bought a pesticide. He later injected his wife with the pesticide, police said.

As she lay dead, Venkatesh rang up his in-laws around 1 am on Tuesday, saying she wasn't responding and asked them to come rushing. Deepa's parents took her to a hospital where doctors proclaimed that she had died two hours ago.

Suspecting something fishy, Deepa's father Giriyappa filed a police complaint, pointing the finger at Venkatesh. He said his daughter wasn't happy in her marriage and that she frequently complained about Venkatesh's behaviour.

The couple had got married last March but just three months after that, Deepa discovered that her husband was having an affair, Giriyappa told the police. The couple frequently fought over the matter. While Venkatesh claimed that his wife was mentally unsound and took her to a hospital, doctors stated that she was normal, Giriyappa said. The constant fights between the couple had prompted both the families to mediate.

After Giriyappa named Venkatesh in the complaint, police set out to interrogate him. They, however, learnt that he was suffering from stomach pain and was in hospital. Venkatesh gave in when police started grilling him. A senior police officer said Venkatesh decided to kill his wife as he was upset about the frequent fights and also suspected that she was having an affair.