Bengaluru, 25 Mar

Days after a 37-year-old real estate agent was found murdered near an under-construction building in BGS Layout, his wife and mother-in-law were arrested in connection with the crime, police said on Tuesday.

Yashasvini, 19 and her mother, Hema Bhai, 37, were arrested on Monday for the murder of her husband, Lokanath Singh, which took place in Soladevanahalli on 22 March, they said.

Yashasvini had married Singh a few months ago against her parents' wishes. However, she later discovered his extramarital affair, which led to frequent fights between the couple. She eventually moved back to her parents' house.

Singh allegedly pressured her to return home and also harassed her parents over the issue.

He even threatened her, saying that if she did not return, he would take her mother instead, police officials said.

Citing preliminary investigations, a senior police officer stated that Yashasvini had laced her husband's food with sleeping pills to make him drowsy. When he started losing consciousness, her mother allegedly stabbed him two to three times on the left side of his neck with a knife.

The crime came to light when a passerby discovered Singh’s body near the under-construction building in BGS Layout, Bilijaji village, and alerted the police.

Yashasvini did not want to continue her marriage and intended to divorce Singh, police added.

On 22 March, she contacted Singh and asked him to meet her near Bagalur. After a conversation, they drove to Soladevanahalli. Singh had also brought some beer bottles with him. As per their plan, her mother followed them in an auto-rickshaw, police said.

Since Singh had multiple cheating cases against him, police initially suspected business rivalry as a motive for his murder.

"A case of murder was registered, and we arrested Singh's wife and mother-in-law in connection with the incident," the officer added.