Woman killed mom for refusing rice from outside

Plastered her body into cupboard with son's help

The Kengeri police have claimed to have identified two suspects in the murder of an elderly woman, whose decomposed body was found plastered in a cupboard at a house at Gandhinagar in Kengeri Satellite Town recently.

“We have cracked the case which had attracted attention for the way in which the body was concealed. Shashikala (42) and her son Sanjay (21) murdered Shashikala’s mother Shanthakumari  (69) over a petty issue,” DCP (West) M N Anucheth told DH. Sanjay is doing his third semester in Aeronautical Engineering at a private college in Kengeri. The suspects and the victim hail from Shivamogga.

Shashikala and Sanjay murdered Shanthakumari in the third week of August 2016. She and her son plastered her body in a cupboard. They lived in the same house till February 2, 2017. They fled the city after they couldn’t prevent the foul smell from emanating from inside the cemented cupboard.

The murder came to light on May 7 when the house owner Naveen opened the door with a duplicate key and entered the house. He suspected something fishy due to the foul smell coming from inside the cemented cupboard. He informed the police who rushed to the spot and recovered a human skeleton.

“Sanjay had brought rice for her mother from an eatery and offered it to Shashikala. Her mother refused to consume it saying it was not home cooked. An irked Shashikala repeatedly hit her mother on the head with a rolling pin,” the DCP said.

Shashikala told Sanjay about the incident after he returned home. They did not shift the victim to the hospital fearing the neighbours would learn about the incident. After Shanthakumari died the following day due to excessive bleeding, the duo decided to dispose of the body with help from Sanjay’s friend Nandish,” Anucheth said.

Nandish and Sanjay bought a large plastic container and charcoal. They also brought five gunny bags of red soil from a nearby construction site. They tried to stuff the body inside the plastic container, but failed.

Finally, they pushed the body inside the cupboard, poured charcoal and the soil over it and cemented it. They stuffed all her clothes in the plastic container and taped it. They also taped all the windows to prevent foul smell from emanating from inside the cupboard. A few days later, Sanjay cemented the cupboard, said the police.

The suspects cooked up a story saying their relative had met with an accident in Shivamogga and left the house on February 2, 2017. Based on Sanjay’s request, Naveen deposited Rs 50,000 to the former’s account for his relative’s treatment.

The police registered a case based on Naveen’s complaint on May 7. “We are questioning Sanjay’s relatives and friends, including Nandish (21), a resident of Kumbalgod. Nandish and Sanjay had been studying in the same college since 2014,” the DCP added. The mother and son are at large and will be arrested soon, said the police.