Daijiworld Media Network – Koppal

Koppal, Jun 27: After evading arrest for 23 years, a 75-year-old man accused of murdering his third wife has finally been apprehended by Gangavati town police in Koppal district.

The accused, Hanumanth Husenappa, a native of Haladhal village in Manvi taluk, Raichur district, was working as a junior assistant at the government primary health centre in Badarli at the time of the crime. Following the death of his first wife and a failed second marriage, he married a woman named Renukamma from Indargi village in Koppal taluk due to his stable government job.

The couple later lived in Lakshmi Camp area of Gangavati. In 2002, after a domestic dispute, Hanumanth allegedly killed Renukamma by stabbing her and attempted to dispose of her body by stuffing it into a gunny bag, claiming it was luggage. He placed the bag on a government bus headed to Kampli in Ballari district. However, upon discovering the body, the conductor immediately diverted the bus to the police station and filed a complaint at Gangavati town police station.

Before police could apprehend him, Hanumanth fled and lived as a wanderer for over two decades, changing locations frequently to avoid detection. Recently, he returned to his native village, Haladhal, where he was tracked and arrested by Gangavati police based on credible intelligence.

The arrest was carried out under the leadership of Gangavati DySP Siddalingappa Patil and town PSI Prakash Mali, who located Hanumanth at Atanoor village in Sirwar taluk of Raichur district and presented him before the court.