Man kills wife for demanding jewellery back

A stationery shop owner has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering his wife after she demanded that he return her jewellery that he had pawned to take a loan.

A city civil and sessions court on Tuesday convicted Vinay Kumar for the murder of Vanajakshi in July 2011. It also convicted his friend, Somashekhar, who had helped him dispose of the body. Somashekhar will be in jail for five years.

The couple had married in 2005 and lived in a rented house in Gottigere, South Bengaluru. Kumar had set up a stationery shop with financial support from his father-in-law. In 2010, the couple had a baby boy.

Wife was persistent

Kumar pawned his wife’s jewellery to raise a loan and invested the money in real estate. But he suffered big losses. Vanajakshi soon got impatient and wanted the jewellery back. Kumar dilly-dallied for some time but Vanajakshi was persistent. He thought the best way to keep her quiet was to kill her.

In July 2011, Kumar sedated his wife by giving her food laced with sleeping pills. He then roped in Somashekhar, a cab driver, to take an unconscious Vanajakshi to a desolate place.

Kumar promised to waive Rs 30,000 that he had lent him. There, he strangled her with telephone wire, buried her and came home.

Once at home, Kumar chopped a few lemons, took smashed eggs and put vermilion around them. He then cooked up a story that someone had done black magic at his house and abducted his wife. He also filed a police complaint.

Background check

The Hulimavu police recovered the body but suspected Kumar.

Balaramegowda, the then inspector of the Hulimavu police station, did a background check on Kumar and picked him up for questioning. Kumar couldn’t withstand the interrogation for long and blurted out the truth.

Based on Kumar’s confession, the police also arrested Somashekhar and charged both of them with murder and destruction of evidence. The charge sheet was filed in 2011 and public prosecutor Prashanth S Thoragal argued the case.