Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Sep 22: In connection with the macabre murder of Santosh Shetty (56), who was operating a hotel at Gandhinagar here, at Sheshadripuram in the city, his wife, Annapoorneshwari Shetty (44), and family friend, Prakash (24), stand arrested.

Pepper powder was sprayed into the eyes of Santosh Shetty on Friday afternoon before he was hit in the head with sharp weapons. Santosh, who was critically injured, was admitted into a private hospital by the accused Prakash Shetty. But his life could not be saved. The police, who have arrested both the accused, have intensified their investigation and questioning.

Santosh Shetty from Kundapur and his wife, Annapoorneshwari, had shifted to the city several years back, and were running their 'Mahalaxmi Self Service' hotel in Gandhinagar area. As soon as the police rushed to the spot, Annapoorneshwari reportedly told them that her husband used to get heavily drunk and attack her. After she was attacked similarly on Thursday night, she claimed she confined him in the bedroom for self protection. "When I opened the door on Friday morning, he menacingly came forward to attack me again. Then I sprinkled pepper spray into his eyes and hit his head with a stick at which he died," she stated. The police who began investigating this story after believing her initially, came to know of a different story altogether.

The policemen came to know that Prakash was at the couple's residence on Thursday night. When questioned, Annapoorneshwari reportedly stumbled for answers. In the second version, she said her husband had come home when Prakash was also at home and that both of together had attacked her husband. Although Prakash took Santosh twice to hospital to save him, he did not survive, she stated.

Officials of central division here said that the accused have been narrating different versions, and till clear evidence emerges, nothing can be said about this murder. Prakash happens to be the son of a close friend of Annapoorneshwari's father. He had come to the city seeking work. He used to mingle freely with the family. The police personnel have reasons to believe that she would have narrated about her sufferings at the hands of her husband, and both of them would have jointly drawn up a plan to kill Santosh Shetty.