HUBBALLI: A man and his sister-in-law committed suicide by hanging in the house of an autorickshaw driver here on Sunday evening after his wife came to know about their illicit relationship. Both the deceased hailed from Bengaluru.
Shanti was in an illegal relationship with her elder sister Parvathi’s husband Lokesh. Shanti was in her third marriage, but continued her relationship with Lokesh. After the wife came to know about the relationship, the duo came to Hubballi.
The duo hired an autorickshaw and went around Hubballi all through the day. When the driver wanted to go home for dinner, Shanti and Lokesh asked for a place to stay for the night and the driver took them to his house in Morarji Nagar.
A little while later, the autorickshaw driver stepped out to ferry another passenger when Lokesh and Shanti entered into a suicide pact and hung themselves from a hook in the roof.
Parvathi said, “They were caught on Friday in a room together in her house. I returned home and locked myself in room. Today, we were informed that they had committed suicide”.
The autorickshaw driver said that when he returned, he knocked the door, but they did not open. He then tried calling them on phone, but they did not respond. “Then I called the police control room and informed them”, he told the police.
“Apparently, they were from Bengalru and hired my autorickshaw from Akshaya Park. They asked to use the washroom and said they had to return to Bengaluru. I told them to have food at my place by the time I picked up another passenger and offered to drop them back. I thought they were a couple and I offered them food because they said they too were Marathas. When they did not open the door, I informed the police and when they checked through the window, the two had hung themselves”, said Maruti Pundalikrao Jadhav, the autorickshaw driver.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajeev said the deceased hail from Peenya in Bengaluru. “They came to Hubballi on Sunday and the auto driver left them at his house when they committed suicide. Based on the complaint filed by the family, we will take up investigation”, he said.