Four members of a family were found dead in a house at Dasana Oni near Channamma circle in Belagavi on Friday, superintendent of police (Gadag) Nemagouda said.
The police said that the deceased have been identified as the son of Gadag-Betageri municipal corporation vice president Sunanda Bakale, Karthik (27), and her relatives Parushram (55), wife Lakshmi (45) and their daughter Aakankasha (17). They were residents of Koppal district and had come to Gadag on April 17 to finalise Karthik’s wedding date, SP Nemagouda said. He said that the incident happened between 2 am and 3 am when the victims were sleeping in two rooms on the first floor of Sunanda’s house. The perpetrators had allegedly killed the family and fled the scene while discarding a sharp iron-made weapon in the gutter outside the house, he said.
He quoted Sunanda as saying that the culprits fled when they heard the sound of a police vehicle arriving at the scene. The police were informed about the incident by Sunanda, who heard noises coming from the first floor and grew suspicious.
He said, “After Sunanda alerted the police, a team reached the spot and found the victims dead in pool of blood with about eight-ten injuries, including neck wounds. Upon observing the injuries, the police suspected that sharp knives were used in the crime. We are reviewing CCTV footage from the roads leading to Sunanda’s house and neighbouring residences.”
Nemagouda said that the murderers likely gained entry from the roof and also escaped through the same route.
After visiting the spot, Belagavi division inspector general of police (IGP) Vikash Kumar Vikash said four teams have been deployed to apprehend the culprits. “Given the brutality of the crime, the motive remains unclear, and only the arrest of the perpetrators may shed light on the reason. We are also questioning Sunanda’s family members and relatives to ascertain the motive for the murder.”