Woman, paramour murder neighbour, burn her body

Duo robs chit fund operator, strangles her

A 30-year-old married woman, along with her lover, murdered her neighbour and made away with gold valuables. They dumped the body near Hanakere in Mandya district and set it on fire to conceal the identity.

According to the police, the victim is Thimmakka, 50. She was residing with her family in Kurubarahalli and was into flower decoration and chit fund business. The suspect, Sheela, was residing with her husband and two children. Sheela has been detained, while Arun, who was having an extra-marital affair with her, is on the run. They had taken away a chain, a pair of earrings and a pair of bangles from Thimmakka.

On August 26, Thimmakka’s family members approached the Mahalakshmi Layout police and registered a complaint, saying that Thimmakka was missing. The police started looking out for her and alerted all neighbouring stations.

On Saturday morning, the Mahalakshmi Layout police received information about a partially charred body being found on the Hanakere main road.

Confession
The police questioned Thimmakka’s family members and people involved in the chit business with her. On Sunday morning, Sheela was questioned and she confessed to the crime, the police said.

“Sheela discussed the plan to murder Thimmakka with Arun. On Friday, Sheela invited Thimmakka to her house, saying she wanted to discuss the chit business.

She also asked Arun to come home. Around 2 am, Thimmakka went to Sheela’s house. Soon, Arun and Sheela overpowered the woman and gagged her. They tied her hands and legs and removed the gold ornaments she was wearing. They bundled  her up in a car and rode away towards Hanakere. On the way, they strangled Thimmakka and dumped the body on the pavement on Hanakere main road.

They set the body on fire and returned to the city,” said a senior police officer. The gold valuables are with Arun. Efforts are on to trace him and recover the valuables, the officer said.

WhatsApp helped
All senior police officers in the state have formed a WhatsApp group and they keep exchanging messages about missing persons and unidentified bodies on it. The Bengaluru police had put a message about the missing woman. The Mandya Rural police, who had found the partially burnt body, cross-checked and identified it as that of Thimmakka.