A woman teamed up with her husband to kill his mother over a financial dispute and later tried to pass it off as a natural death.
The police arrested Vani (21) and her auto driver husband Raju (28), residing in a rented house in Palace Guttahalli, for killing Anusuyamma (41).
A senior police official said the couple met Anusuyamma, a daily wage labourer, at her house on February 19 and quarrelled over money. Anusuyamma said she would not give her money since no one was taking care of her. But Vani demanded that the money be given to Raju.
When Anusuyamma refused, Vani hit her mother-in-law, smashed her head on the wall and strangled her. The couple rushed Anusuyamma to hospital, where the hospital staff alerted the police noticing the external injuries.
The Vyalikaval police took up a case of unnatural death and waited for the postmortem report. Anusuyamma’s elder brother, however, told the police that he suspected foul play in her death.
The police took the couple into custody and questioned them, but they maintained that Anusuyamma collapsed at home due to low BP. The police persisted with questions over the external injuries, forcing Vani to reveal how they had assaulted and killed her over money matters. Following a thorough investigation, the couple confessed to the crime. The police booked them for murder and remanded them to judicial custody. Further investigations are on.