Panel to decide on religion tag for Lingayat

Benglauru, May 17: A garment company manager jumped to death from his third-floor house on Saturday, four days after having killed his wife and wrapping her body in a blanket. 

Manish Kumar, 42, gave a relative and neighbours frightening moments before committing suicide at AECS Layout, Kudlu Gate, Southeast Bengaluru. The relative had come over after Kumar’s brother called him from Delhi, saying he had stopped responding to phone calls. 

The relative, who lives in Hongasandra, arrived at Kumar’s house around noon. He knocked on the door which was bolted from the inside but didn’t get a response. When he asked the neighbours, they said they didn’t have a clue. The relative and the neighbours decided to break the door open. 

But as they entered the house, they got the shock of their lives. Kumar was slitting his wrist with a blade. He then ran into the bathroom and locked himself in. They followed him and asked him to open the door. But he ignored them. They had to break open the bathroom door, too. By this time, Kumar had slashed his hands, chest and other parts of the body. Waving the blade at them, he asked them to stay away. 

Even the relative and the neighbours pleaded with him to drop the blade, he ran out and jumped off the building. He was taken to a hospital but it was too late. 

A bigger shock awaited them. They felt a foul smell emanating from the house. When they went in, they found the decomposed body of Kumar’s wife, Sandhya, 35, wrapped in a blanket. They called the cops. 

Police found a death note purportedly written by Kumar on May 12. “We suspect he killed her on that day,” said a police officer investigating the case. 

Police said the death note specifies what made Kumar kill his wife and commit suicide. Sandhya suspected him of having an affair since he regularly chatted up some bar dancers he had met in Gurgaon and Delhi. She accessed his phone and saw the calls and the WhatsApp messages he had sent them. The issue rocked their marital life and they often fought over it. He then decided to kill his wife and commit suicide, as per the death note. 

Police said Kumar appeared to have spent the last four days at home, with his wife’s body wrapped in the blanket. “We don’t know whether he tried to dispose of the body or didn’t want to see it,” the officer said. Police couldn’t determine how he killed her and are waiting for the post-mortem report. 

Joshi Srinath Mahadev, DCP (Southeast), said the couple hailed from Bihar. “We are waiting for Sandhya’s relatives to arrive in Bengaluru. A case of murder and suicide has been registered at the Parappana Agrahara police station.” Another officer said the couple had a love marriage.

Bengaluru, Jul 25: Kalmane Kamegowda, the lake man who was recently praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a recent Mann Ki Baat, is in serious condition after he tested positive for COVID-19, former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said on Saturday.

"The health condition of Lake Kamegowda is serious. It is our responsibility to save him. I demand that the state government make appropriate arrangements for emergency treatment," Kumaraswamy tweeted.

"The Prime Minister also praised him in Mann Ki Baat. Chief Ministers expressed appreciation. Only praising doesn't help him at this point of time. The government needs to come forward to treat him in a good hospital when he's sick," he said in the following tweet.

Kamegowda of Dasanadoddi village in Malavalli taluk had drawn the attention of the Prime Minister in the 66th 'Mann Ki Baat' for constructing ponds to conserve rainwater during the summer.

Responding to Kumaraswamy's remark, State Medical Education Minister Dr Sudhakar K said that he has already called up the Mandya Medical College and directed the hospital to admit and treat Kamegowda.

"As soon as I noticed the seriousness of Kamagowad's health, I called the director of the Mandya Medical College and informed him that he should be admitted to the hospital and treated. I pray to the Lord that the Kamagowadas who inspire the whole country will heal soon," Sudhakar K tweeted.