Relentless teen’s plea solves 5-year-old murder mystery in Karnataka

A chilling murder case in Karnataka's Davanagere district was finally resolved five years after the crime.

It is thanks to the persistence of a 19-year-old girl, Usha, whose unwavering determination led police to uncover the skeletal remains of her father - buried inside the family’s puja room.

In 2015, Usha began frequenting the Honnalli police station, insisting that her mother, Gangamma, had murdered her father, Lakshman, and buried him at their home in Nelahonne village. Initially dismissed by officers, her story gained credibility after she remained firm in her claims and was later supported by her younger brother and some villagers.

On August 12, 2015, accompanied by a forensic team and the tahsildar, police visited the house. What they found shocked them - a shallow grave inside the puja room, beneath a recently renovated floor.

Skeletal remains were exhumed and later confirmed to be Lakshman's through bone marrow testing using Usha’s DNA. This led to the arrest of Gangamma and her lover, Jagadeesh, who was apprehended a month later after initially fleeing.

Gangamma later confessed that their home’s layout left them with few options for concealment. The puja room, with no windows and little foot traffic, was chosen for its seclusion.

Remarkably, she continued to use the room for religious rituals.

Usha, who had witnessed the murder at the age of 15, finally opened up.

According to her, Lakshman had returned home one evening in 2010 and confronted Gangamma, who was having an affair with Jagadeesh. During the altercation, Lakshman struck Gangamma, prompting Jagadeesh to retaliate. Together, they smothered Lakshman with a pillow. The following evening, the two buried his body in the puja room and covered it with cement.

Terrified and threatened with death, Usha remained silent for years.

In court, 34 witnesses and around 40 documents, including DNA evidence, helped piece together the case. Usha and her brother’s testimonies were pivotal, with the latter recounting how his questions about their father's absence were always ignored.

The first additional district and sessions court in Davanagere convicted both Gangamma and Jagadeesh, sentencing them to life imprisonment on July 14 this year. The judge remarked, “Bodies are burnt or buried, but the accused buried it in the prayer room. If you look at it, they don’t hesitate to do anything.”

Tragically, Usha did not live to witness the verdict. She died in a fire in 2020.

"The day of the verdict was an emotional moment even for the police officers. Usha should have been there as she had waited so long for justice. Her brother now lives alone in the village," said one officer.