Murder most foul: 45-yr-old woman killed by minor son?

Praveen Kumar | NT

The real reason behind the mysterious death of a 45-year-old woman would have been buried along with the body if her sisters had not found bite marks on her face and other vital clues. They also noticed chilli powder on the body.

These vital clues came to their notice when they took the body for a ritual wash before its burial. The sisters brought this to the notice of a few villagers, as they wanted to report the matter to the police. But they did not find any help and were forced to go ahead with the last rituals.

The body was buried in the village. They were also shocked by the behaviour of the victim’s 17-year-old son as he appeared not disturbed by the tragedy. After the burial, the sister got hold of the minor’s mobile phone and found that he was the killer.

When they questioned him, he reportedly confessed to having killed his mother and tried to frighten his aunts to hand over his mobile phone. The family members then decided to file a police complaint. One of the sisters has filed a complaint with the Tavarekere police station on Magadi Road almost 12 days after the murder.

The deceased has been identified as Saraswathi, 45, resident of Seegahalli Gate in Tavarekere. She was a widow and staying with her two minor sons. Her husband Lakshman was murdered over a dispute at his home town in Kalaburagi, around five years ago.

\The victim’s 17-year-old minor son is the prime suspect behind the crime. On February 6, the victim had spoken to her sisters and told them that she would be visiting Kalaburagi to see her ailing mother. The next morning, the family received a call about her death. On the same night at around 9.30 pm, the body was taken to Kalaburagi by her son.

The body was covered with husk and ice. “After her husband’s murder, my sister had shifted to Bengaluru to make a living and to take care of her two sons.

Her elder son was pursuing II PUC at a college in the city. After the body was brought, he did not give any satisfactory replies about his mother’s death. He was behaving strangely and said that his mother could have died of stomach pain.

The marks on her face, back, blood stains at the nose and mouth, chilli powder on the body was hinting something serious,” victim’s sister Gangamma told NT.

“After we suspected his involvement, he confessed to having killed my sister. We found out that my sister had saved Rs 2 lakh to pay her son’s fees. He is alleged to have spent all the money for his alleged bad habits. This could be one of the reasons behind the murder. After the complaint, the police have taken him to their custody,” the complainant added.

The police are in the process of exhuming the body for further investigations. The police received the complaint on Saturday (February 19). “There are many procedures to be followed. The place of the suspected murder is Tavarekere. The body was buried at Kalaburagi. Spot mazhar at the house where she died is underway. The exact reason behind the death will come to light only after the post-mortem. Since the boy is a minor, we are in the process of going through his certificates,” said a police officer.