Police in Karnataka's Shivamogga district arrested five persons in connection with the murder of a man on Friday, October 1. Those arrested included the man's wife and two sons. Though the family members tried to pass off the murder as a case of suicide, police found that their statements differed. According to the police, the accused murdered Vinod (45), a resident of Achapura village, on September 26. But the incident came to light only two days later after a fully burnt car with a dead body in the driver's seat was discovered in a forest area nearby.
The arrested persons have been identified as the victim's wife Binu (42), his elder son Vivek (21), younger son Vishnu (19), Binu's sister's son Ashok (23) and Vinod's brother Sanjay (36). The arrests were made on Friday, October 1. The accused persons allegedly strangled Vinod with an iron wire and attacked him with an iron rod. After killing him, the accused transported the body in a car to the Hunasekoppa forest area and torched the car to make it look like a case of suicide, according to the police.
The police added that the victim fought with his family over an affair he was having with a woman from a neighbouring town. The issue created a rift in the relationship between him and all his family members. Recently, Vinod had sold his land and planned to give a major share to the woman, according to the police. He was also planning to sell off another property. The family members were upset with Vinod's conduct and hatched a plan to kill him, the police said.
The accused purchased petrol and made other preparations on September 26 to carry out the murder. The Theerthahalli police who traced the burnt car initially thought it to be a case of suicide. But when the police started an enquiry by speaking to Vinod's family members, their statements differed from each other. The five accused have been sent to judicial custody.