Oct 29 – A 30-year-old man originally from Bihar but residing in Bengaluru was apprehended by the police after it was revealed that he had concocted a false narrative claiming his wife had gone missing. In reality, he had committed the heinous act of murdering her and disposing of her body near Sakleshpur in Hassan district while returning from a trip to Udupi. This shocking revelation was made public by the authorities on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Prithviraj, is a resident of BTM Layout in Bengaluru and is employed in the electronic goods supply sector. His wife, Jyothi Kumari, aged 38, also hailed from Bihar. The couple had tied the knot just nine months ago and had moved to Bengaluru only four months prior to these events.
On August 5, Prithivaraj visited the Madiwala police station and reported that his wife had mysteriously disappeared, filing a formal complaint. According to a police officer, Prithviraj claimed that Jyothi had recently been pressuring him to relocate to Delhi, a proposition to which he had objected. He went on to describe that on August 3, he left for work at around 10 am, but upon his return at approximately 4 pm, Jyothi was nowhere to be found, and her mobile phone was switched off.
During their investigation, law enforcement identified inconsistencies in Prithviraj’s statements. They also discovered that Prithviraj, Jyothi, and their friend Sameer Kumar had embarked on a trip to Udupi on August 1. The trio had rented a Zoom car, a service that offers self-drive cars for hire. CCTV footage revealed the three leaving the city, but another piece of footage showed only Prithviraj and Sameer returning.
The police detained Prithviraj for questioning, and he eventually confessed to the murder of Jyothi. He reportedly informed the police that he suspected Jyothi of having an extramarital affair with an individual she had met a few years ago during a competitive exam.
The police disclosed that Prithviraj had initially devised a plan, together with Sameer, to kill Jyothi at Malpe beach in Udupi and then report it as a drowning incident. However, due to the presence of many people in the area, the duo had to abandon this plan. Subsequently, while on their way back, Prithviraj strangled Jyothi in Shiradi Ghat and concealed her body in a wooded area. On August 3, he returned to Bengaluru and filed the missing persons report.
A police team was dispatched to the location where Prithviraj had disposed of Jyothi’s body. They discovered the decomposed remains and conducted a post-mortem examination before returning her body to her grieving family members.