BELAGAVI: The body of a 47-year-old businessman, who was believed to have died after suffering a heart attack, was exhumed on Wednesday for post-mortem examination after his daughter lodged a complaint expressing suspicion about his death.
Santosh Dundappa Padmannavar, a resident Anjaneya Nagar in Mahantesh Nagar, Malamaruthi, died on October 9, supposedly due to a heart attack, and his last rites were conducted the next day at the Sadashivanagar burial grounds after his eyes were donated.
His eldest daughter Sanjana Padmannavar, who is studying engineering in Bengaluru, had returned home and tried to examine the CCTV footage. However, her mother Uma scolded her and asked her to take bath. When she returned, Sanjana found footage of about an hour deleted. Following this, she lodged a complaint naming her mother, two domestic workers and two others.
Speaking to the media, Sanjana said, “After I returned from the burial ground, I could not check the CCTV footage as I was told to take bath. By the time I came back from bath, about one hour’s of CCTV footage had been deleted. This made me suspicious and I lodged a complaint naming all those who were at the house at that time including two house helps. Two unidentified people are seen exiting the house in CCTV footage from the opposite house. My mother had got the CCTV footage deleted. At the time of my father’s death, my two younger brothers had been locked up in a room”.
The body of Santosh Padmannavar was exhumed in the presence of Assistant Commissioner Sharavan Kumar, police officers and a FSL team. The police are questioning Uma and a case has been registered at the Malamaruthi police station.
Police Commissioner Iada Martin Marbaniang told the media, “An FIR was registered at the Malamaruthi police station on October 15 for murder. The complainant Sanjana Santosh Padmannavar has accused her mother and four others of murder. Two of them are domestic helps and two others are outsiders. As of now, no one has been detained. After the post-mortem examination, we will know the cause of death and take further action”.
Meanwhile, family members of Santosh Padmannavar have accused his wife Uma of carrying out the murder along with her paramour. Elder brother Raju Dundappa Padmannavar said Uma had befriended a Mangaluru youth on Instagram about 5-6 months ago and expresses suspicion that the duo may have executed the suspected murder. “They administered electric shocks, gave him some injection in the arm and suffocated him to death. The pillows were found dumped outside the bedroom”, he said and demanded strict action against the culprits.