Woman, paramour arrested for getting husband killed 9 years ago in Kalaburagi village

KALABURAGI: Nine years after a woman got her husband killed by hiring hitmen and portraying his death as natural, she has been arrested along with four others, at Kadani village in Kalaburagi taluk.

Shantabai, allegedly hired a hitman to kill her husband, Beerappa Pujari, in 2016. The incident occurred on April 16, 2016, when Beerappa’s body was found behind his house, and his wife claimed that he had died due to excessive drinking.

A video of Mahesh and Shantabai discussing pending payment for the supari killing is doing the rounds now.

However, nine years later, a video surfaced showing Shantabai and the hitman, Mahesh, discussing the murder, leading to the reopening of the case. Beerappa’s brother, Bhimashankar, filed a complaint with the police, alleging that his brother’s death was not an accident, but a murder.

Beerappa’s house and (right) his brother near his grave.

The investigation revealed that Shantabai and Mahesh had an illicit relationship and they conspired to kill Beerappa. They initially tried to poison him, but when that failed, they hired hitmen to kill him. The investigation also revealed that Shantabai had given a supari (contract) to Mahesh and his friends to kill Beerappa.

The police have arrested Shantabai, Mahesh and three others involved in the murder, including JCB Siddu, Shankar, and Suryakant. The case has been reopened, and the body of Beerappa is being exhumed for further investigation. The police are also collecting digital evidence and investigating the case further.

Police Commissioner Sharanappa S D said, “A murder case has been registered at the Farhatabad police station. The complainant saw a video which was circulated on social media where one of the accused is discussing about the supari murder and the pending payment. The complaint also says the evidence of the murder has also been erased. Five people have been arrested so far. We are discussing with forensic experts about collecting technical evidence”.

“Beerappa’s wife had an extramarital relationship and he was coming in the way of the affair. Hence, the wife got him killed. We will have to exhume the body. We are also including extra-judicial statement and digital evidence. The killers first tried to kill Beerappa by giving him tablets, but failed. They then got him drunk and strangulated him”, he added.