A case of brutal domestic violence has surfaced in Malabad village, Athani taluk of Belagavi district, where a woman was murdered by her husband and in-laws for not being able to bear children.
The victim, identified as Renuka Santosh Honakande (27), was murdered on Saturday night. Police have arrested her husband, Santosh Honakande, father-in-law Kamanna Honakande, and mother-in-law Jayashree Honakande in connection with the crime. A case has been registered at the Athani police station.
According to Belagavi Superintendent of Police Bheemshankar Guled, Kamanna and Jayashree took Renuka on a motorcycle around 8 pm on May 17, pushed her off the bike, crushed her head with a stone, and strangled her with a saree near Malabad village.
In an attempt to stage the murder as an accident, the accused dragged her body for nearly 120 feet, tying her saree to the rear wheel of the bike to make it appear as if she had died after falling off.
Initially, they claimed her death was accidental. However, suspicion was raised by a relative, Harish Mallikarjun Harali, who filed a complaint citing doubts over the incident.
Following a detailed investigation, police confirmed it was a premeditated murder. SP Guled stated that Santosh had abetted the crime. All three accused have been arrested and remanded to judicial custody. The investigation is ongoing.
