Stephen Kayyar
Daijiworld Media Network - Kasargod (MS)
Kasargod, Jan 26: K Venkataramana Karantha (50) and driver Niranjan, who are arrested in the murder of Roopashree (44), teacher of Miyapadavu Vidyavardhaka School of the district, are remanded to judicial custody for more investigation.
Meanwhile, more gruesome details of the murder have come to light during the preliminary investigation. Police have taken possession of the bucket and drum that were used to suffocate Roopashree by immersing her in the water filled in them.
Initially the accused tried to kill Roopashree by immersing her face in the bucket filled with water. However, during the attempt the bucket got a hole because of the impact. Later, both the accused immersed her in the drum of 250 litre capacity, which was filled with water and suffocated her to death.
Accused Venkataramana Karantha is working as a drawing teacher in Miyapadavu school since 2003. Deceased Roopashree joined as a social science teacher in the same school in 2014. Both got acquainted and their relation also grew in the process. There were financial deals also between both of them. Of late, Vekataramana suspected that Roopashree has developed close relation with some other teacher and hatched a plot to kill her.
It has come to light during the investigation that the accused had roamed around 90 km in the car with the body of deceased Roopashree kept in the trunk of the car. Venkataramana even picked up his wife and daughter, who had gone to Mangaluru on some work, from Hosangadi in the very car in which the body of Roopashree was kept in the trunk.
The accused even tried to dispose the corpse in Netravati river by driving up to Pumpwell. But their plan failed due to some reason. Ultimately, they came back to Kasargod and threw the body on the beach of Manjeshwar Kanwatheertha.
Further investigation by the crime branch police is on.