Woman murdered, body dumped in canal; Two arrested

DAVANAGERE: The police have arrested two people in connection with the murder of a woman whose decomposed body was found in the Bhadra river canal near Kanive Bilachi in Channagiri taluk on March 30.

The deceased is Nethravathi (45), a resident of Harakere village near Holehonnur in Shivamogga district while the accused are Kumar H G (38) and Chidanandappa (54). The duo had killed her after she had destroyed areca trees on their farm, tied up her hands and legs and dumped the body in the Bhadra canal.

The woman had allegedly destroyed areca plants on her neighbour’s farm.

As the body was highly decomposed, it had become difficult to establish the identity of the deceased. During investigation, the Channagiri police came to know that a missing person’s complaint was lodged in Holehonnur police station and the woman was identified from her ear studs.

Police Superintendent Uma Prashant said, “The highly decomposed body of the woman was found in the canal on March 30 and identification was difficult. The body was also tied up with a rope which led us to believe that it was a clear case of murder. We verified complaints of missing women from neighbouring districts and the victim’s sisters finally identified her based on the ear studs and other items on the body”.

Police Superintendent Uma Prashant briefing the media about the murder case.

“Nethravathi would chop areca tree in their neighbour Kumar’s farm and there are some 7-8 complaints regarding the issue. When the neighbours questioned her, she started an argument and, in a fit of rage, the accused attacked her in the neck with a sickle. He had kept the body wrapped under coconut fronds for a few days and later, with the help of a friend, he put the body in a gunny bag, tied it up and dumped it in the Bhadra canal which is about 250 metres away from his land. The body had floated in the canal for about 50 km”, the SP said. The two families have a legal dispute and the case is in court, the SP added.