Woman, 9-month-old daughter found dead

Kin allege her husband, mother-in-law killed them

A 26-year-old woman and her nine-month-old daughter were found dead under mysterious circumstances at her in-laws' house in Kadiganahalli on Sunday afternoon. The kin of the deceased, Chaitra, suspect foul play, and have accused her husband and in-laws of killing her.


Tragic death:u00a0An album photo of Shashidhar and Chairtra.

Chaitra's brother Devaraj said that she had written a letter to her family a week ago, mentioning that her husband Shashidhar (32) was having an extra-marital affair. While the police have arrested the woman's husband, her mother-in-law is absconding.

The incident came to light when neighbours saw smoke coming out of the house and called Devaraj immediately. "I reached the spot around 2.15 pm and found my sister and her daughter Vaishnavi, dead. Their bodies seemed to have been burnt. I suspect her mother-in-law first killed Chaitra and Vaishnavi and then poured kerosene over them and set the bodies on fire," said Devaraj.

"If somebody is on fire, they shout out of pain. But the neighbours didn't hear anything. Both bodies were lying on the bed in a sleeping position. This clearly shows that they first killed them, and then set them on fire," he added.

Chaitra had married Shashidhar six years ago. They have a 5-year-old boy Varun, who was at his grandparents (Chaitra's parents) house at Sonnappanahalli for Christmas holidays. "We are glad he was not home or else even they would have killed him as well," says Devaraj.

In the letter, Chaitra had mentioned that her husband was having an affair with another woman. When she confronted him, a huge fight ensued, and he asked her to be quiet or leave the house. This note is in the custody of Chikkajala police.

Shashidhar is in police custody and Kamalamma , the mother-in-law is absconding.

Devaraj said, "They used to torture her regularly. We don't know if they were harassing her for dowry, because she never said so."u00a0 Both bodies were still in the house at the time of going to press.

Chaitra's family has lodged a complaint, and the Chikkajala police are investigating.