Man kills wife, ends life

A painter and his wife were found dead at their residence in Beereshwaranagar in Subramanyapura on Thursday morning.

Police said Vijayabhaskar Reddy, 42, hanged himself from the roof while the body of his wife Krishnamma, 30, was lying on the floor. Police suspect that Reddy strangled her before committing suicide.

The couple, who were married for 12 years, came to the City from Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh, eight years ago.

Reddy worked as a painter with his brother, Harikrishna Reddy. Krishnamma worked in a garment factory. The couple had three children — Keerthi, 9, a student of class 6; Indu, 7, a student of class 4; and a son, Lokesh, 4. The kids were in Chittoor for the Dasara holidays.

Last call

Harikrishna Reddy said that his brother had called him on the phone at 1.45 am on Thursday, saying that Krishnamma had committed suicide and that he should come to their house immediately.

“I live in Ittamadu. So I called up my brother-in-law, Kanna Reddy, who lives nearby, to rush to their house. He reached the house by 2 am. But by thenmy brother had hanged himself,” Harikrishna told Deccan Herald. 

Kanna Reddy said when he called them over the phone, the couple did not respond.
Growing suspicious, he peeped through the window and found Reddy’s body hanging. He broke open the door and discovered that both were dead. He  then alerted Subramanyapura police.

Krishnamma’s body bore marks of ligatures on her neck, indicating that she had been strangled, the police added. An arm-length cable was found next to her body.
However, police officers said that they did not find rope or any other material to suggest that Krishnamma hanged herself.

Police sources said they were waiting for the autopsy report to ascertain the exact cause of her death.

The bodies were handed over to relatives after an autopsy at KIMS Hospital on KR Road.

Krishnamma’s brother Narayana Reddy told Deccan Herald that Vijayabhaskar Reddy often went home drunk and tortured Krishnamma. “He also suspected my sister’s fidelity and would insult her,” he said.

He told police that Reddy had killed his sister and then, in a state of panic, hanged himself.

The police have registered a case of murder and suicide.