Representative image of a police officer.
Credit: iStock Photo
Bengaluru: A police constable from Chamarajanagar allegedly smothered his wife with a pillow and tried to pass off her death as suicide.
Just eight days ago, the woman gave birth to their first child. The constable suspected that she was having an affair, according to police.
Pratibha (25) was at her parents’ house in Kolathur village near Hoskote, about 30 km east of Bengaluru, after the childbirth.
On Monday, her husband Kishore D, a 2015-batch police constable, made dozens of phone calls to his wife, but she did not return any. He then came directly to Hoskote and barged into his in-laws’ place without talking to anyone.
Even as his sudden arrival and strange behaviour flummoxed his in-laws, Kishore walked straight into Pratibha’s room, bolted the door from inside, and pounced on her.
Pratibha resisted the attack and screamed for help, drawing her parents. But before help could arrive, Kishore picked up a pillow and smothered her until she died. He then tried to hang her body from the ceiling fan to portray the death as a suicide.
However, his in-laws’ relentless knocks on the door threw him off-gear. He panicked, opened the door and fled.
Police suspect Kishore travelled to Kolar post-murder and attempted suicide by poison. Having second thoughts, he sought treatment at a private hospital. His condition being critical, he was transferred to MVJ Hospital in Hoskote, where he remains serious.
Bengaluru District Superintendent of Police, Mallikarjun Baladandi, stated that once Kishore recovers, the police intend to interrogate and arrest him for murder.