Karnataka man kills wife for excessive watching of Instagram reels: Report

In Udupi, Karnataka, a 27-year-old woman was allegedly murdered by her husband after an argument about her Instagram usage.

In a shocking case from Karnataka’s Udupi district, a 27-year-old woman was allegedly murdered by her husband following a quarrel over her watching Instagram reels, reported The Hindu. The incident took place on Thursday night under the Shankaranarayana police limits, and has once again brought attention to the dark side of digital obsession and domestic discord.

A man was arrested by Karnataka police for allegedly killing his wife for watching Instagram reels: Report. (Pexels)

Frequent arguments over social media usage

According to the report, the accused, Ganesh Poojary, 42, worked as a painter and lived in Hosamatha, Hiliyana village in Brahmavara taluk. His wife, Rekha, was employed as an attendant at a fuel station in Shankaranarayana. Investigations revealed that the couple frequently argued over Rekha's habit of watching reels on her mobile phone, a matter serious enough to have earlier drawn police intervention. Authorities had previously taken an undertaking from the couple after being alerted to their domestic disputes.

On the night of the murder, Poojary reportedly returned home late and lost his temper upon finding Rekha once again watching reels. The argument quickly escalated, and in a fit of rage, he allegedly attacked her with a machete, fatally striking her on the neck.

Police arrested Poojary soon after the incident and have registered a case of murder.

In a similar incident reported earlier from PG Palya in Chamarajanagar district, a 33-year-old man named Kumar died by suicide, allegedly unable to cope with his wife’s excessive engagement with Instagram reels.

Kumar’s family claimed that he had been facing emotional distress due to frequent taunts from friends about videos his wife had uploaded online. Despite expressing his discomfort and objections, his wife reportedly continued to make and post reels, leading to frequent arguments between the couple.

When the tension reportedly reached a breaking point, Kumar took the extreme step and was found hanging from a tree. Police said that no suicide note was found, but a preliminary inquiry pointed to social media as a contributing factor in the domestic dispute.