Man kills wife, her mother 'to hide his HIV status'

A 27-year-old man is suspected to have killed his pregnant wife and her mother so as to cover up the fact that he was HIV-positive, police said. The horrific murders happened in Car Street in Doddaballapur town, about 40 km north of Bengaluru, on Saturday night.

Chandrashekhar, a weaver by profession, wanted his wife, Chandrakala (23), to go for abortion as he feared he would be exposed if she delivered the baby. His in-laws weren’t aware that he was suffering from the life-threatening disease. Chandrashekhar often fought with his wife and in-laws ever since she tested positive for pregnancy three weeks ago. His wife opposed the idea of abortion tooth and nail, and her mother, Meenakshamma (45), backed her, P V Reddy, the inspector of Doddaballapur Town police station, told DH.

When Chandrashekhar didn’t get his way, he decided to kill his wife and hatched a plan. On Saturday afternoon, he sent her to her mother’s house. He knew the routine of his father-in-law, Narayanappa, who works at a restaurant and leaves home by 6 pm. Meenakshamma, who works as a domestic help, returns home by 8 pm.

Once Meenakshamma returned home, Chandrashekhar, too, reached there. He pounced on both of them, strangled them with a sari and sneaked out, Reddy said. The murders were a quiet affair and neighbours had no clue until Narayanappa returned home around 10 pm. He was stunned to find his wife lying on the floor and daughter motionless on her thighs. He called for neighbours. They told him they had seen Chandrashekhar entering the house around 9 pm. An angry Narayanappa went to Chandrashekhar’s house but it was locked. He then went to police.

The first clue came when police picked up Chandrashekhar’s brother for questioning on Sunday morning. He dropped a bombshell: Chandrashekhar was HIV-positive. The revelation got police thinking. When they questioned Narayanappa, he expressed ignorance about Chandrashekhar’s HIV status but recalled his son-in-law’s strong opposition to having a child.

Police now surmise that Chandrashekhar committed the murders to cover up his HIV status.
Curiously, Chandrashekhar had married Chandrakala under rather extreme circumstances. His family disowned him after learning of his HIV status.

He then rented a house next to Narayanappa’s and started darting Chandrakala. But when he approached Narayanappa with a marriage proposal, the latter turned it down, saying his daughter was mentally unsound.

Chandrashekhar, however, remained firm. Five months ago, he eloped with Chandrakala and married her in Dharmasthala. The couple returned to Doddaballapur later and Narayanappa accepted the marriage.
DH News Service