Man murders married woman he befriended on Facebook, hides body in farm

MANDYA: A woman, who is a mother of two children, was murdered by a man she met online just a week ago after she allegedly questioned his manhood, in KR Pet taluk on Sunday. The accused had dumped the body in a his farm and covered it with a coconut frond so that the body would not be easily found.

The victim Preethi (38) was a resident of Hosakoppalu in Hassan district. She has two children and her husband is an autorickshaw driver Sundaresh while she worked in a garment factory. Last Thursday, she sent a friend request to Puneeth of Karothi village in KR Pet taluk which he accepted. Preethi then messaged Puneeth and the two chatted online late into the night.

On Friday, she shared her phone number and asked Puneeth to give a missed call. When she called some time later, Puneeth did not answer the call. He, however, called her back later, but she did not answer. Later, they spoke for long on the phone that night, police said.

On Saturday, the two spoke again when Preethi told Puneeth to give him love and said she would give him money. She then invited Puneeth to meet her in Hassan on Sunday. Accordingly, Puneeth went to Hassan in a car borrowed from his friend, Police Superintendent Mallikarjun Baladandi said.

Preethi left home saying she had to attend a ritual involving her friend’s daugher in Hassan and when she met Puneeth, she asked him to take her on a long drive. Puneeth brought her to KRS where they checked into a lodge and indulged in intercourse, the police said.

When Puneeth said they should leave, Preethi wanted to stay for some more time, but as he refused, they left the lodge. He then asked her to get on a bus to Hassan, but she asked him to take her to KR Pet bus stand. When they reached KR Pet Circle, she asked to go to a secluded place and Puneeth took her to the Kattaraghatta forest area.

Preethi then insisted that they have intercourse, but Puneeth opposed it saying someone from his village may spot them. When she made nasty comments about his manhood, Puneeth told her to get in the car and hit her on the head. Preethi fell to the ground and started bleeding. A panicked Puneeth got apprehensive that Preethi may reveal his name and smashed her head with a stone. He then strangulated her with her own veil, took the body to his farm and covered it with a coconut frond, police added.

“After she went missing, the husband had filed a complaint with the Extension police station in Hasan on June 23. When her mobile phone was found to be active in KR Pet taluk. When the police called the number, Puneeth answered the phone and said that Preethi had hired his car, left behind her mobile phone and taken a bus. In the meantime, villagers of Karothi informed us that the body of a woman had been found near the village. Upon investigation, it was established that it was Preethi, who had been missing from Hassan”, Mandya Police Superintendent Mallikarjun Baladandi said.