Victim strangled by wife, lover; daughter saw it all

When car driver Ramachandra Babu hanged himself in late September, his sister Janaki was heartbroken.

But Janaki did not suspect that Babu (36) could have been killed by his wife Lavanya (29) and her lover of four years.

Babu, a resident of Yellappa Reddy Layout in Arekere, allegedly hanged himself on the night of September 29. Police registered a case of unnatural death and Babu’s body was returned to his home village at Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh, where he was cremated.

Janaki considered the case closed. But her impression of a suicidal death was shattered over a week ago when Babu’s 11-year-old daughter told Janaki that her father had been the victim of a homicide.

According to Janaki, the child claimed that her father had gone to bed that night after consuming payasa. The 11-year-old, her six-year-old sister and Lavanya slept on a mattress on the floor beside the bed.

“Sometime later, the elder sister said she woke up to find an unknown man wearing a black mask sitting on her father, who was struggling and trying to scream,” Janaki told DH from Chittoor.

“The girls said their mother, Lavanya, joined the man in strangling their father with a plastic rope. Frightened, the girls ran into the kitchen, when their mother followed in and told them never to reveal to anyone what they saw,” Janaki added.

As the girls broke their silence and told Janaki the truth late November, police have registered a case of murder against Lavanya and her lover, Shekar. The duo has also been booked under IPC section 201 for not registering the ‘suicide’ with police.

However, Lavanya and Shekar have not yet been arrested. “We are still investigating the case. Once we have all the details, we will take action,” a senior officer said.

In the meantime, Janaki said she feared for her nieces, considering that they are eyewitnesses living under the control of the prime suspect. Janaki also claimed that Lavanya had threatened to kill her if she ever approached the police.