Bengaluru: A property dispute within the family turned deadly, with two distant relatives accused of murdering a 70-year-old woman who had been living alone at Hosa Guddadahalli on Mysuru Road. The accused allegedly attacked Venkatlakshmamma on the head and neck with an iron rod following an argument over her properties and fled the scene on Oct 23.Byatarayanapura police have arrested Kantharaju, 42, a resident of Nakkalubande in Jayanagar and nephew of the deceased’s elder brother, and Manjappa, 37, a resident of Doddabidarakallu in north Bengaluru, who is related to the victim’s foster sister.Kantharaju works as a labourer, while Manjappa is an auto driver and labourer.Venkatlakshmamma had lost her husband during the Covid-19 pandemic, while her only daughter had passed away a couple of years ago. With no immediate family members living with her, she had been staying alone in her house. She owned several properties, including one in Rajarajeshwarinagar. However, the properties were embroiled in a legal dispute with her siblings, which was pending before a court.With the help of technical assistance, police got some clues about the killers. Since some jewellery remained on the victim’s body while a few items were missing, police suspected that the murder was not necessarily motivated by robbery and that someone known to her could be involved.Probe revealed that the killers had spoken to Venkatlakshmamma about the property a few times. They visited her house on Oct 23. They argued with her over the same issue and killed her between 1pm and 4pm that day by attacking her with an iron rod before fleeing.The murder came to light the following day when neighbours checked on her as she had not stepped out of the house for almost 24 hours.One of her tenants had filed a complaint with police. Kantharaju confessed to police that by eliminating Venkatlakshmamma, the property would go to her brother, who is his uncle. Both the accused have been taken into police custody.
