Daijiworld Media Network – Karkala (SP)

Karkala, Feb 24: The body of a married woman named Sugandhi (32) from Gundyadka Chetanahalli under Nitte gram panchayat near here, who had gone missing five days back, was found lying in a thicket by the side of a road at Mannabettu in Bola village on Thursday February 23.

Sugandhi, wife of Suresh Mera, had gone out of home on February 18 and had not returned since then. A bottle of poison was found lying by the side of her body. As the clothes of the woman are found intact on her body, and the body does not bear any wound marks, on the face of it, it appears to be a case of suicide. Some also suspect that it could be a case of murder, in view of the fact that she had walked away from home four days back, and normally people take decision to commit suicide at the spur of the moment.

It is said that the lady had illicit relationship with a man, and that she had taken away her clothes while going away. She had called her husband on Sunday to inform him of her decision not to come back. 

In addition to the bottle of poison, Bisleri brand water bottles, footwear, and lungi, were found near her body, indicating that Sugandhi was with someone else at the time of her death. Villagers feel that someone known to her would have given her liquor mixed with poison, and that the chance of her paramour, who was perhaps not willing to accept her decision to permanently stay with him, feeding poison to her, cannot be totally ruled out. It is also possible that he would have convinced her to consume poison together, and then fled the scene after acting out to be consuming poison.

The doctors have estimated that Sugandhi died on Wednesday afternoon. It is gathered that she used to stay away from her home for three to four days at a time often, and there had been quarrels between the couple on this account. She did not provide any satisfactory answer to questions relating to her frequent disappearances, it is learnt.

Sugandhi has left behind husband and three children. A case in this connection was registered in rural police station. Deputy superintendent of police, Santosh Kumar, and circle inspector, Vijay Prasad, visited the spot. Sub-inspector of the police station, Azmat Ali, has taken up investigation.