Gram panchayat member sets pregnant wife ablaze in Mysuru district

MYSURU: In a horrific incident, a gram panchayat (GP) member allegedly killed his pregnant wife by pouring kerosene over her and setting her ablaze on Saturday. The deceased, Shanthamma, was the wife of Ramesh, a member of Doddamulagodu Gram Panchayat.

In a complaint at the Bannur police station, Shanthamma's father Kalingaswamy alleged that Ramesh was pestering his daughter to get Rs 5 lakh from her parents as he wanted to contest the upcoming GP election. "When she failed to get the money, he killed my daughter," he stated.

He alleged that Ramesh’s mother Ningamma, uncle Javaraiah and others too were involved in his daughter’s murder. Claiming that two years ago when his daughter got married, they had given Rs 50,000 cash and 60 gm of gold ornaments as dowry, he said, "But Ramesh wanted my daughter to get Rs 5 lakh from us as he wanted to contest the panchayat election."

The Bannur police have registered a case under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 498A (cruelty against wife) and 304B (death caused by burns or any other injury). DSP Prabhakar Rao Shindhe and other officers visited the spot and a team was formed to nab the accused who are absconding.