MANDYA: A woman, who was alone at home, was found brutally murdered with her throat slit at Kikkeri in K R Pet taluk on Wednesday afternoon.
Pushpalatha (45) had lost her husband about 10 years ago and had been living with her son and daughter since then. She was also running a chemist and druggist store.
On Wednesday afternoon, she told the doctor at the clinic next door to her store that she was going home, just across the street, for lunch and added that traders who had harvested mangoes from her trees would come to make payments. Some time later, her son came to the store and enquired with the doctor about his mother. The boy was told that his mother had gone home for lunch and he decided to wait for her at the store itself.
When she didn’t return to the store for a long time, the son went home looking for her, only to find her brutally murdered. Upon hearing his screams, locals gathered there and informed the police.
One Ravi, who used to work on Pushpalatha’s farmland used to visit the house sometimes and his behaviour seemed suspect, locals say. The police have now taken him into custody for questioning.
It is also suspected that the attackers may have raped her and then slit her throat. The Kikkeri police visited the spot and are on the lookout for the killers.
Pushpalatha’s daughter is pursuing a course in Ayurveda while the son is in PUC.