In gruesome act, a 42-year-old man in Karnataka’s Vijaypura allegedly killed his wife with a hammer and then made a video call to the woman’s parents to show them what he had done. The Gandhichowk Police on Tuesday arrested Mallikarjun Pavar after they were alerted by the woman’s parents following the video call where he allegedly confessed to the crime.
The police reached the spot within minutes of the call and arrested Mallikarjun as he was trying to flee. The police later went into the house inspect the crime scene. As Sub Inspector Aarif stepped into the house, he saw the victim, 38-year-old Sonabai Mallikarjun Pavar, lying in a pool of blood, her head resting on the pillow and her body covered with a brown blanket. A garland was placed on her hair.
"This was a very strange and horrifying thing I have seen. It was like the killer wanted to dress her up," PSI Aarif said.
Around 4 pm on Tuesday, Sonabai's parents received a video call from her husband, Mallikarjun Pavar, via WhatsApp. Mallikarjun allegedly told them that he wanted them to see something important. "He moved the camera to where her body was lying and told Sonabai's parents that he had killed her," PSI Aarif said.
Sonabai's parents, who were in a shock, immediately called the Gandhichowk Police and informed them about the incident. "We received a call from the woman's parents. They said that their son-in-law had killed their daughter and showed them her body on a WhatsApp video call. They told us where the couple lived and we rushed to the spot," PSI Aarif added.
Mallikarjun Pavar worked in Mumbai as a make-up artiste for Bollywood films and occasionally for Hindi serials, investigating police said. Mallikarjun and Sonabai have been married for 15 years ago. He used to live mostly in Mumbai, but would visit his wife once or twice a year.
"The couple had three children. Two girls and one boy. The girls had gone to their grandparents' home but the boy was sleeping inside the room when Mallikarjun killed his wife. He hit her head with a hammer. Over the last four years, Mallikarjun had been demanding that Sonabai agree to divorce him as he wanted to live in Mumbai and did not want any familial obligations. Sonabai had refused as Mallikarjun was the sole breadwinner and her children would be left in lurch if he stopped providing them with money," PSI Aarif said.
The police arrived at the residence in the wee hours of Tuesday. "We nabbed him and have booked him under section 302 (murder) of IPC. He will be questioned and then produced before the magistrate," PSI Aarif added.