'Humiliated' manager kills vice-principal

Puttanna allegedly attacked Chandralekha when the latter came to the staff room around 11 am. He threatened her with a knife and slit her throat before stabbing her. On hearing Chandralekha’s screams, one of her colleagues rushed to the room, only to find her dead.
Puttanna, after ensuring that Chandralekha was dead, walked into the principal’s chamber. He told the principal about the incident and surrendered to the Ashokapuram police soon after their arrival.

Memory loss

However, chairman of Sarada Vilas Educational Institutions B S Ranga Iyengar told Deccan Herald that Puttanna was relieved of his duties following a request made by him (Puttanna). He was suffering from memory loss. Moreover, there were no complaints against the victim and the accused, he added.

Puttanna told the media that he was forced to kill Chandralekha after undergoing “severe  humiliation” at her hands. Chandralekha had lodged a complaint against him, and he was suspended three days ago.  On Tuesday, he was asked to hand over the charge to his successor. But he refused to do so, saying that he would do so on Wednesday.

Puttanna, a resident of Alanahalli Layout here, was an officer with the Bank of Baroda at its Shimoga branch before taking voluntary retirement in 2001. It was on January 15, 2009, that he joined this college. Replying to media queries, Puttanna alleged that since his first day in the college, he had to undergo humiliation just because he was a Dalit. On many occasions, Chandralekha had threatened to teach him a lesson, besides calling him “nalayak” (inefficient). Puttanna alleged that he was often reminded of his caste even by the secretary of the institution.