Karnataka woman poisoned to death by relatives over extramarital affair

A renewed investigation into a missing person complaint, which had earlier gone cold, has revealed that a woman from Karnataka was allegedly murdered by her family in a suspected case of honour killing. Three accused have been arrested in connection with the killing.

The victim has been identified as Satyavva, a resident of Karnataka's Belagavi district who was married to a man named Santosh. She was, however, in an extramarital relationship with another man, Krishna. Satyavva had eloped with her lover earlier this year.

The duo then started living together. Investigators said that Satyavva was tracked down on March 13 by her family members. During the investigation, it emerged that the woman's relatives took her to Maharashtra and tried to convince her to break off ties with Krishna by citing caste differences.

Despite repeated warnings, Satyavva insisted on continuing the relationship. Angered over the unrelenting stance, the family members perceived as a loss of family honour.

On March 21, the woman's uncle, Prakash Bhimappa Helavar (46), her brother Shanur Sadashiv Helavar (35), and her brother-in-law Morabad Kallappa Mayappa Helavi (40) allegedly forced her to consume poison.

The purported incident took place in Maharashtra's Sangli district. After the woman died, the trio cremated her remains in a local cremation ground in an attempt to destroy evidence of the crime.

They were arrested later, after a missing person complaint for Satyavva was lodged by Krishna at a police station in Belagavi.

The case initially went cold, but was later reopened and solved by Inspector Javed Mushapure through sustained investigation, news agency PTI reported.

The breakthrough in the probe came when the police succeeded in uncovering the truth by gaining the confidence of the victim's mother, who eventually revealed the sequence of events.

Further investigation in the case is underway, the officials said.

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(With inputs from PTI)