Mysuru (Karnataka): A man has been arrested in Karnataka for allegedly murdering his lover by detonating a gelatin stick in her mouth in Mysuru district, police sources said on Monday. The incident was reported from Bherya village in Saligrama taluk. 

The deceased has been identified as 20-year-old Rakshita, a resident of Gerasanahalli in Hunsur taluk. The accused, Siddaraju, is a resident of Bilikere village near Periyapatna town.

According to police, Rakshita was married to a man from Kerala but was having an illicit affair with Siddaraju.

Police said Rakshita had invited Siddaraju to the Kappadi pilgrimage centre, after which they stayed together at a lodge. During their stay, Siddaraju allegedly placed a gelatin stick in the victim’s mouth and set it off. He later claimed she had died due to a mobile phone explosion.

The lodge staff grew suspicious when they could not find any evidence of an exploded mobile phone at the spot. When questioned, Siddaraju insisted that she had thrown the phone away and then attempted to escape. The hotel staff immediately alerted the police.

When officers arrived and interrogated Siddaraju, he confessed to the crime, police said. More details are yet to emerge regarding the case.

The Saligrama police have registered a case and taken up further investigation.

Earlier, in a similar case, the Bengaluru Police on June 30 arrested a man from Assam on charges of murdering his lover, a mother of two children, and dumping her body into a garbage truck.

The case was reported under the jurisdiction of the Channammanakere Achukattu police station. The accused has been identified as Shamshuddin, a native of Assam, and the victim as Asha.

The victim was a resident of the Hulimavu police station limits and had been living with the accused, a 33-year-old man from Assam. They had been in a relationship for one and a half years and were introducing themselves as husband and wife in the locality.

The immediate cause of death was a quarrel that broke out when the accused returned home in an inebriated state. The argument escalated into a physical struggle, resulting in the woman’s suffocation and death.