Kalaburagi, 10 June

Two men from Vijayapura were arrested by the Wadi police for murdering a woman in a car and burning her body near Ladlapur in Chittapur taluk in Kalaburagi.

The deceased, Devibai Lalsingh Jadhav, 42, from Ganiyar Tanda in Vijayapura district, was reportedly in a live-in relationship with one of the accused Somalu Pawar, 53.

The other accused was Hamu Pappu, his friend.

The police had earlier found the woman’s body in a burnt in a ditch along National Highway 150 near Ladlapur bypass.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, District Superintendent of Police Addoor Srinivasulu said “Devibai had been living with Somalu for the past 10 years after her husband’s death. Frequent quarrels broke out between them regarding the marriage of Devibai’s stepdaughter (from her first marriage).”

Srinivasulu said that as the fighting escalated, “Somalu offered to drop Devibai at the Vijayapura-bound bus. Hamu also accompanied them in the car. Somalu then strangled her to death inside the car.

“The accused then headed towards Sedam with the body. On seeing a toll gate, they turned back and travelled through Shahabad and Raichur Road to Chittapur. They bought a can, filled it with petrol, and tried to dump the body at the Yadgir–Telangana border but failed. They later bought matchsticks in Yadgir and, while returning towards Wadi, attempted to bury the body near Ladlapur. As the ground was too hard, they poured petrol on the body and set it on fire before fleeing.”

The matchsticks and petrol found at the crime scene helped the police crack the case.

SP Addoor Srinivasulu added that that in order to avoid raising suspicion, the accused “even joined her family in searching for her in places like Hubballi and Nipani. However, the daughter of the deceased grew suspicious of his behaviour, which ultimately led to the breakthrough.”