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In-laws strangle woman to death, drag her on bike to fake accident in Karnataka's Belagavi
Renuka continued to live in the same house after being asked to leave, which led her husband and her in-laws to allegedly conspire to kill her.
A 27-year-old woman was allegedly strangled to death by her in-laws in Belagavi district of Karnataka, who then tied her to a motorcycle and dragged her about 120 feet to stage the death as an accident.
Police said the deceased woman, identified as Renuka, was unable to conceive, after which her husband, Santosh Honakande, a software engineer, married another woman who is now pregnant.
Renuka continued to live in the same house after being asked to leave, which led her husband and her in-laws to allegedly conspire to kill her.
Police said Santosh, along with his father Kamanna and mother Jayashree, have all been arrested in connection with the murder.
Belagavi Superintendent of Police (SP) Bheemashankar Guled described the case as a “ghastly incident” and said the police first received a call from the father-in-law claiming that Renuka had died in a road accident.
Kamanna told the police that he was riding a motorcycle, with his wife Jayashree as the first pillion rider and Renuka as the second.
Upon arriving at the scene, police became suspicious and transferred Renuka’s body to a hospital. They launched an investigation early Sunday morning and called Kamanna in for questioning.
“During interrogation, Kamanna failed to give logical answers, raising suspicions. Eventually, he confessed to strangling Renuka,” Guled said.
Woman strangled after surviving fall: Police
Explaining the sequence of events, the police officer said that Renuka had gone to a temple on Saturday evening. Her in-laws then picked her up on a motorcycle.
After travelling a short distance, they allegedly pushed her off the vehicle. When she survived the fall, they strangled her.
“They then tied her to the motorcycle using her saree and dragged her for about 120 feet to stage it as an accident,” Guled said.
Within six hours, the police confirmed that it was a murder. All three accused, the husband, father-in-law, and mother-in-law, were arrested and remanded in judicial custody.
The husband was also involved in the conspiracy, and there were reports of dowry demands, the SP added.
With PTI inputs
