The police investigating the suspicious death of businessman and social activist Santosh Padmannavar, 47, have arrested his wife, Uma Padmannavar, and two associates in Belagavi. The three were remanded to judicial custody on October 17, following their arrest. Initially believed to be a heart attack, Santosh’s death on October 9 took a new turn after his daughter, Sanjana, filed a complaint suspecting her mother’s involvement.
Sanjana, who returned from Bengaluru for her father’s last rites on October 10, noticed irregularities and checked the CCTV system at their home. She found the footage had been deleted by her brother on their mother’s instructions. On October 15, she reported her suspicions to the Mal Maruti police, leading to a fresh investigation.
The police later exhumed Santosh’s body for postmortem and seized digital devices, including CCTV DVRs, pen drives, and hard disks, from his residence. According to sources, Uma confessed during interrogation that Santosh had multiple affairs and often brought women home, causing years of marital conflict. It was revealed that she met one of her accomplices, Shobhit Gowda, on Telegram, where they discussed her issues with Santosh. Gowda’s friend Pawan, who later joined them in Belagavi, helped execute the murder.
Police say Uma mixed sleeping pills into Santosh’s food on October 9. After he fell asleep, she and Gowda suffocated him using a pillow, with Pawan assisting. Uma initially pretended her husband had died of a heart attack and participated in the funeral rites.
Police Commissioner Iada Martin Marbaniang confirmed the seizure of digital evidence, which has been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for examination. Deputy Commissioner of Police Rohan Jagadish explained that the contents of the seized devices cannot be checked locally, as altering the hash value would compromise the integrity of the evidence in court.
The investigation also uncovered CCTV footage from a neighboring property, showing two unidentified individuals entering the Padmannavar residence on the night of the murder. A case has been registered under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
