Bengaluru man ropes in friend to kill wife

The apparent suicide of a woman in her home in Mahalakshmi Layout, Northern Bengaluru on Monday, turned out to be a premeditated murder.

Initially assumed to be a case of suicide, the death of Pushpalatha, a homemaker, took a dark turn when the autopsy report revealed foul play.

According to the police, it turned out to be a supari killing.

Pushpalatha was discovered hanging from a window at her residence in Srikanteshwara Nagar, within the jurisdiction of the Mahalakshmi Layout police station. As suspicions grew, investigators turned their attention to her 44-year-old husband, Shivashankar, whose behaviour raised red flags.

An investigating officer told DH that Shivashankar harboured doubts about his wife’s fidelity and resorted to extreme measures to address them.

CCTV footage, previously installed by Shivashankar inside their home, became a pivotal piece of evidence. Strangely, the cameras were switched off on the day of the incident, prompting further scrutiny.

“The CCTV camera had footage from other days, but on the day of the incident, it was switched off. When we grilled Shivashankar, he spilled the beans,” the officer said.

Upon interrogation, police said Shivashankar confessed to orchestrating the murder with the help of his friend, Vinay. He allegedly revealed that Vinay was tasked to kill his wife. Vinay went inside the house on February 5, in the absence of Shivashankar and hanged Pushpalatha, according to the police.

Police have filed an FIR under IPC Section 302 (murder).