Udupi: Prathima, a 36-year-old woman who owns a beauty parlour, has been charged with the murder of her husband, Balakrishna,44, in Ajekar, Karkala taluk. Ajekar police arrested Prathima and her alleged lover, Dileep Hegde,28, of Karkala, on Friday. According to police, on Oct 20, Prathima and Dileep allegedly mixed a poisonous substance into Balakrishna's food and later smothered him to death. Initially, Prathima claimed that her husband died suddenly, but the truth was later revealed through an investigation by police.
According to a complaint filed by Sanjeev from Marne village in Ajekar, his son Balakrishna was suffering from illness, and was treated at hospitals in Karkala, Manipal, Mangaluru, and Bengaluru. Since he did not recover, Balakrishna was brought home on the night of Oct 19. His wife Prathima and children were at home. Around 3.30 am, upon hearing a noise, Sanjeev went to check on Balakrishna and found him unresponsive. At 8am, a doctor from the govt hospital in Ajekaru was called, who declared Balakrishna dead. There was suspicion about the exact cause of death due to his sudden passing, and an unnatural death report (UDR) case was registered at Ajekar police station.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Prathima had a friendship with Dileep Hegde, and they conspired to murder Balakrishna, fearing he might prevent their relationship. Following their plan, Hegde provided poison to Prathima, instructing her to mix it in Balakrishna's food, which she did. On Oct 20, Prathima called Hegde to her house, and he arrived around 1.30 am. Together, they smothered Balakrishna with a bedsheet. Following this, a murder case was registered at Ajekar police station under sections 61(1)(a), 103, and 3(5) of the BNS.
On Friday, Ajekaru police station's PSI Ravi BK and PSI Shubhakar, along with staff members Nagesh, Sathish, Pradeep, Ashok, Praveen, Dhajanjay, Sunil, Nagaraj, Shashi, Prashanth, and Vishwanath, apprehended the accused Hegde from Hirgana village in Karkala, and Prathima from Marne village of Ajekar, police said.
It is reported that Prathima was an active user of social media, where she frequently posted reels.