A man in Karnataka's Belagavi district has been arrested for allegedly murdering his wife in an elaborately staged plot, so that he could continue a four-year relationship with a widow from his village.
The victim, Sakkubai Patayat of Shindikurabet village in Gokak taluk, was allegedly killed by her husband, Santosh Patayat.
According to preliminary information, Santosh took his wife to the Chamundeshwari Temple in Marakumbi village of Bailhongal taluk, citing the ongoing Adhika Masa, a sacred period in the Hindu calendar.
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While returning from the temple, Santosh allegedly mixed rat poison and powdered bangle pieces into a soft drink and made Sakkubai consume it, claiming it was temple prasadam. When she began losing consciousness, he allegedly strangled her to death on the roadside, reported NDTV.
Police said the accused then attempted to portray the murder as a road accident by throwing a motorcycle onto his wife's body. He allegedly remained beside the road for a few hours before calling the police control room himself, the report said.
Suspicious of the circumstances surrounding Sakkubai's death, police sent the body for a post-mortem examination at Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences (BIMS). The preliminary post-mortem report indicated that the death was a case of murder and not an accident, NDTV reported.
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During interrogation, Santosh allegedly confessed to the crime, telling investigators that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with his lover, police said. Santosh and Sakkubai, a native of Kallur village in Dharwad taluk, reportedly had been married for nine years.
Investigators further revealed that Santosh had been involved in a relationship with a widow from his village for the past four years.
Santosh has been arrested and lodged in Hindalga Jail. Police are continuing their investigation to ascertain whether the widow had any role in the murder, according to NDTV.
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