Man murders wife, ends life

A 35-year-old man allegedly murdered his wife and then hanged himself at his house  in Hebbugodi late on Saturday.

Nagaraj allegedly smothered Shilpa, 25, and then hanged himself from a ceiling fan using a veil at his 4th Main, Kuvempu Nagar house in Hebbugodi, police said. The couple’s two-year-old son, Tejas, was away at his grandfather’s house at the time.

“Domestic problems could have triggered the incident as Nagaraj often quarreled with his wife. He had started to suspect her of infidelity,” said a police official investigating the case. He added that there had been an abrupt change in Nagaraj’s attitude after he was diagnosed with tuberculosis four months ago. “The family’s financial situation was not stable as they frequently needed money for Nagaraj’s treatment. Nagaraj was also suffering from depression — adding to their problems.”

The incident came to light after Nagaraj’s younger brother, Gangadhar, received a call at around 11 pm from their mother, Laxmamma, saying that a distraught Nagaraj had called to say that he had murdered Shilpa. “I rushed to his house and was shocked to see Shilpa lying on the floor and his body hanging from the ceiling,” Gangadhar said. He immediately contacted Venkatesh, Shilpa’s father, to inform him about what had happened.

Police shifted the bodies to Anekal government hospital for an autopsy. There was no suicide letter. “We are awaiting the postmortem report,” police added.

Marital discord

Nagaraj was from Hebbugodi, while Shilpa was from Doddaballapura. They married six years ago and Nagaraj had initially worked at a food packaging unit at Hebbugodi. He had  quit his job after being diagnosed with tuberculosis. “To make ends meet, Nagaraj started a petty shop. Shilpa, who had been a housewife, began to work at a garments factory to help with the family’s finances,” police explained.

Venkatesh told Deccan Herald that the problem started after his daughter joined the factory. “When my daughter started to earn money, Nagaraj started to feel inferior and began quarrelling with her over every minor issue, making baseless allegations against her, and subjecting her to constant physical and mental torture,” he explained.
A family member added that Nagaraj had attempted suicide several months ago. On that occasion, he had also tried to strangle Shilpa to death. Shilpa had managed to flee  the house and had locked it from outside. Nagaraj had then tried to hang himself, but Shilpa had summoned help from neighbours who rushed him to Victoria Hospital.
Elders of both families had attempted to get the couple to reconcile their differences,” the family member said. Nagaraj, however, was convinced that Shilpa was having an affair, sources added.