Man kills wife, skins her body for refusing dinner

Tumakuru, NT Bureau: A man was arrested for brutally murdering his wife after she refused to serve him dinner, the Tumakuru police said on Thursday. The accused, identified as Shivarama, allegedly killed his wife, Pushpalatha, 35, decapitated her, and skinned her body.

The neighbours were horrified after they saw the woman's skinless body lying in a pool of blood with her severed head in Shivarama's house.

According to the police, the incident took place on Monday night in Huliyurdurga town of Kunigal taluk and came to light after the neighbours alerted the police.

It was revealed that Shivarama used to work at a saw mill and often was found engaged in heated arguments with his wife, Pushpalatha. On Monday night, the couple got into an argument after Pushpalatha did not serve dinner to her husband.

The fight then escalated as they quarrelled over Shivarama's employment. Enraged, Shivarama stabbed Pushpalatha and then used a machete to cut her head, mutilating parts of her body. He continued to skin her body until Tuesday dawn and informed his landlord about his crime, the police added.

The couple's eight-year-old son was asleep during the horrific act. Ashok Venkat, Tumkur Superintendent of Police, said, "Following questioning, the accused had confessed to the murder. The couple were married for 10 years in an intercaste marriage. We have sent the body for a post-mortem.''