CHIKKODI: A woman was killed by her husband and in-laws for allegedly not being able to bear a child even five years after marriage, at Malabad village in Athani taluk. The husband and the in-laws had tried to mask her death as a two-wheeler accident, but have since been arrested.
The victim Renuka got married to Santosh Honakande (27) five years ago, but the couple did not have any children. Around 8 pm last Saturday, her in-laws Kamanna and Jayashree took Renuka on a motorcycle claiming that they will conduct puja at a Shani temple to beget children, Belagavi SP Bheemashankar Guled said.
On the way, Kamanna and Jayashree threw Renuka off the vehicle, smashed her head with a stone, strangulated her with a saree and dragged the body for about 150 metres. They then claimed that Renuka’s saree had got stuck in the motorcycle’s rear wheel and she had died, the SP said.
When Kamanna and Jayashree were grilled, they confessed to the murder. It was also revealed that the son Santosh had encouraged his parents in the act and hence, he too was arrested, the SP said. All the three have been remanded to judicial custody.
