Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: Laxmamma had enough of harassment at the hands of her husband Venkatesh (35). She had endured the way he treated her, her two children, and his bigamous wife who lived with her. But the last straw was when he made plans to bring home a third woman as his wife.

Laxmamma allegedly bludgeoned Venkatesh to death. She and her friend Velu allegedly burnt the body and abandoned it in a vacant plot next to her house at Ittamadu in Channamanakere Achchukattu police station limits on November 13. The police, after investigations, arrested Laxmamma and Velu on Saturday.

On November 14, a sweeper found the burnt body and informed the police. The police made several copies of the photograph of the body and moved around to trace the identity.

"Some people in the locality broadly identified him as a person who was coming frequently to the house of Laxmamma, who stayed next to the vacant plot," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) S. Ravi.

With Laxmamma refusing to identify the person, the police kept a watch on her movements. They later realised the person to be Venkatesh, a labourer from Rajakrishnapura village in Kolar district. They got in touch with Venkatesh’s brother Gullareddy and his relatives, who identified the body.

On further questioning, Laxmamma broke down and confessed to committing the crime.

She said she was the second wife of Venkatesh and had three children. She, her children and Venkatesh’s first wife Ganga were living in one house. Venkatesh used to beat all the five and did not have good relationship with Laxmamma and Ganga. He wanted to marry his uncle’s daughter.