Woman found burnt in Yadgir forest, lover arrested for murder

Yadgir: Yadgir police have solved the murder of a 48-year-old jogathi woman whose charred body was found in a dense forest area last month, with investigators arresting her alleged lover in Bengaluru.

The deceased has been identified as Shantamma, a resident of Nalwar village in Chittapur taluk of Kalaburagi district. The accused, Suresh, is a resident of Halkatta village.

The case came to light on September 24 when a forest watchman spotted a badly burnt body while patrolling the forest area near Bachwar village in Yadgir taluk. The forest reportedly covers nearly 10,000 acres. The watchman alerted villagers and the Yadgir Rural police.

Senior police officers, including the Yadgir Superintendent of Police, visited the spot and examined the remains. As the body had been extensively burnt and the woman’s identity could not be established, police registered a suo motu case and collected articles found near the spot. Following the postmortem, the remains were cremated in the forest.

SP Prithvik Shankar subsequently formed a special investigation team headed by Yadgir Circle Inspector Nanagouda to establish the identity of the victim and trace the person responsible.

Investigators checked missing-person complaints across police stations in the district but initially found no matching case. A breakthrough came when police checked records in neighbouring Kalaburagi district and found a missing complaint filed at Wadi police station regarding Shantamma of Nalwar village.

A bangle recovered from the crime scene proved crucial. When police showed it to Shantamma’s family, her son Devappa identified it as belonging to his mother, helping investigators establish the victim’s identity.

Police then examined Shantamma’s call records and found that Suresh was the last person known to have contacted her. He had reportedly been absconding since the incident. Investigators traced him to Bengaluru and detained him for questioning.

According to the police investigation, Shantamma had been living separately from her husband and earned her livelihood through begging. She had reportedly become acquainted with Suresh around five months before the incident, and their relationship later turned intimate.

Police allege that Shantamma had helped Suresh obtain a loan of Rs 1 lakh from another person. After several months, she allegedly began demanding repayment of the money and also pressured him to marry her.

Investigators allege that Suresh, angered by the demands, took Shantamma on a motorcycle to Jalalpur near the Karnataka-Telangana border on September 20. He allegedly made her consume liquor before taking her to the Bachwar forest

Police suspect that after Shantamma became unconscious, Suresh strangled her to death. He allegedly poured petrol and liquor over the body and set it on fire before fleeing to Bengaluru.

Yadgir Rural police have arrested Suresh in connection with the case. He has been remanded in judicial custody as the investigation continues.