Man arrested for wife’s murder wanted to kill her during trip to coastal Karnataka

Team Udayavani, Sep 26, 2021, 2:56 PM IST

A 38-year-old man arrested for murdering his wife in a brutal manner in West Bengaluru had originally planned to do execute the murder in a cinematic manner during their recent trip to coastal Karnataka.

The arrested Kantharaju B R, a real-estate broker suspected his wife, Roopa’s fidelity, and during a confrontation over the issue, he assaulted her on the head with an iron pipe, stabbed her in the neck, and later slit her throat.

The murder took place on September 22, a day after the couple returned to Bengaluru after offering prayers at Shree Dharmasthala temple.

According to the police Kantharaju, who has been recently acquitted in a murder case, suspected that his wife was having an affair with his cousin and brother-in-law.

The family had arrived in Dakshina Kannada on September 18 and had visited the Dharmasthala temple. Kantharaju confronted his wife over his suspicion at the temple itself but the latter denied the accusation and swore that God would punish her if she had an affair with anyone. Kantharaju however did not believe her and planned to kill her during the trip.

Police said that he wanted to execute the murder in a filmy style and had thought of pushing Roopa from a cliff or running her over with a car. He however aborted the plan due to the presence of relatives.

On September 21 they returned to Bengaluru and yet again there was a verbal altercation between them over Roopa’s character. Family members tried to counsel Kantharaju but this did not affect him in any manner.

After murdering his wife, Kantharaju took a bus to Hassan disposed of the murder weapons and took another bus to Dharmasthala, where he shaved his head to fulfill his pledge and returned to Bengaluru on the night of September 23. Police suspect that Kantharaju is a suspected psychopath killer and posed a threat to his cousin and brother-in-law and thus the two were taken to a safe location

Finally on September 24, Kantharaju was arrested when he went to meet a friend in Mahalakshmi Layout to collect money.

Police however feel that he will not spare his cousin and brother-in-law if he were to secure bail.