The Karnataka police recently cracked a sensational murder case of a Telangana businessman, whose charred body was found in an estate in Karnataka’s Kodagu district on Oct 8, and arrested his second wife and two accomplices involved in the crime.
The investigations revealed the woman with the help of accomplices strangled Ramesh Kumar to death on Oct 3, in Uppal Hyderabad, and traveled around 840 Kms to Karnataka’s Kodagu district to burn his body, to grab over ₹ 8 crore in his possession.
The arrested include Kumar’s second wife Niharika P (29), Nikhil Maireddy (28) – both from Ramamurthy Nagara in Bengaluru and Ankul Rana (30) from Haryana Punjab, according to Ramarajan K, Kodagu Superintendent of Police.
A special police team investigating the murder case arrested Niharika and Nikhil on Oct 22, and Rana from Haridwara.
The police have recovered a car used for the offense and also mobile phones.
After Kumar’s charred body was discovered in a coffee estate in Kodagu, barely one Km from the highway, police started the investigation. Four special teams of 16 officers pursued leads.
“It was a sensitive case and tracing the identity of the victim was challenging as the body was charred. After hectic efforts, the teams were successful in collecting the data scientifically with technical inputs.” Ramarajan K was quoted as saying.
Kumar had sold a property and had ₹ eight crore in his possession, investigations revealed.
Niharika plotted the murder to grab the money. She along with Nikhil allegedly lured Kumar to Uppal, Hyderabad, on Oct 3, where he was strangled to death, according to police.
Niharika and her two accomplices allegedly transported the body to Kodagu in Karnataka the other day. They left it in a coffee plantation, covered with a blanket, and set it ablaze in an attempt to destroy evidence, Ramarajan K.
How police cracked the case
Investigators reviewed CCTV footage from hundreds of cameras, tracking vehicles that had moved through the area around the time of the crime, police officials were quoted as saying.
The fact that crime scene was not far from the highway prompted the police to sift through data from thousands of vehicles in Suntikoppa, Madikeri, Kushalnagar, and Madhapur to track down the culprits.
After relentless efforts, investigators identified a red Benz car registered in the name of deceased Kumar, who had recently gone missing. The Kodagu police then contacted their Telangana counterparts to gather background information on Kumar and his personal relationships, according to the police.
As inquiries progressed, suspicion focused on Niharika, her associate Dr Nikhil, a veterinarian, and a friend, Ankur Rana. When Niharika was taken into custody, she confessed to the crime.
Maintaining a criminal silence, Niharika had even filed a missing person report for Ramesh, police said.
When Niharika was 16, her father passed away, and her mother remarried. Niharika married at a young age and became a mother, but she later divorced due to marital issues.
An engineering graduate, Niharika became involved in a financial scam that led to her arrest in Haryana in 2016. After release, she returned to Bangalore and married Kumar in 2018.
Kumar financed her lavish lifestyle, but disputes arose, especially after he refused her demand for ₹ 8 crore.
