Karnataka Police arrest live-in partner of woman accused in Bengaluru triple murder

Bengaluru, June 26 (IANS) The Karnataka Police have arrested Kenneth, the live-in partner of a young woman, who is in police custody for allegedly murdering her parents and younger sister in Bengaluru.

Kenneth was arrested in Puducherry, police said on Friday.

The case pertains to the murders of 55-year-old software professional Somasundar, his wife Muthulakshmi (48), and their younger daughter, Supriya (20), a college student.

The three were allegedly killed by their elder daughter, Shwetha, and her boyfriend, Kenneth, at an apartment in Seegehalli under the K.R. Puram police station limits in east Bengaluru on Monday.

Kenneth’s partner, Shwetha, was arrested earlier at the Puducherry railway station, while Kenneth had managed to evade arrest.

According to the police, Kenneth was hiding in makeshift huts along the seashore, as staying in hotels would have required him to produce identity proof.

Special police teams tracked down his hideout and arrested him.

Kenneth will be produced before a Magistrate, following which the police are expected to seek his custody for further investigation.

Meanwhile, Shwetha has been remanded to 14 days of judicial custody as the investigation into the triple murder case continues.

The woman arrested in connection with the shocking triple murder in Bengaluru has reportedly told investigators that she killed her mother because she felt she had been treated “like a prisoner” for years, police said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the police have intensified their search for her live-in partner, Kenneth, who remains absconding.

During police questioning, Shwetha reportedly claimed that she had harboured resentment towards her mother for several years. She alleged that Muthulakshmi had been extremely strict with her from her school days through college and had denied her personal freedom.

Investigators said Shwetha also attempted to take sole responsibility for the murders, claiming that Kenneth had no role in the crime.

However, police suspect that both Shwetha and Kenneth were involved in the killings, citing evidence from the crime site and the nature of the injuries sustained by the victims.

A special police team arrested Shwetha at Puducherry Railway Station after an extensive manhunt.

According to investigators, the accused duo attempted to evade arrest by switching off their mobile phones immediately after fleeing Bengaluru. They also avoided using ATM cards or digital payment methods in an effort to remain untraceable.

With limited digital evidence available, police relied heavily on CCTV footage from highways and toll plazas.

Investigators tracked the movements of the accused and found that they had travelled towards Tamil Nadu on a motorcycle.

Police teams were subsequently deployed to Tiruchirappalli and Puducherry.

Officials said the accused couple travelled nearly 300 km before their motorcycle reportedly broke down near Puducherry. While they were allegedly planning their next move, police teams tracking their movements gathered intelligence and arrested Shwetha. Kenneth, however, managed to evade capture and remains absconding.

According to investigators, the sequence of events began on June 21 when Muthulakshmi visited Shwetha’s residence.

Police said arguments reportedly broke out between the mother and daughter, and Muthulakshmi stayed at the house overnight.

Investigators suspect that at around 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Shwetha and Kenneth murdered Muthulakshmi. They allegedly planned to shift her body to Kenneth’s rented residence in the HAL area but abandoned the idea for fear of being noticed.

Police believe Supriya was stabbed to death shortly after entering the house, while Somasundar was attacked and killed moments later.

The accused allegedly fled the site before police arrived.

Investigators later traced them to Kenneth’s rented house in Gururaja Layout in the HAL area, where they are suspected of cleaning bloodstains from their bodies before leaving on a motorcycle.

Police have formed a special investigation team and are examining the case from multiple angles, including the motive behind the murders, the relationship between the accused, financial transactions, and the collection of forensic and circumstantial evidence.

–IANS

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