A young individual has been apprehended by the district police in connection with the murder of a 28-year-old teacher in Melukote of Mandya district. The arrest took place in Hosapete, Vijaynagara district.
The arrest was made based on various pieces of evidence gathered during the ongoing investigation. The victim, Deepika, was discovered buried in a secluded location behind Yoga Narasimha Swami Hill in Melukote, with the recovery of her body taking place on a Monday afternoon.
The arrested individual, a 22-year-old from the same village as the victim, was revealed to have had a year-long friendship with Deepika. Their communication extended to phone calls and in-person meetings. Following the exhumation of Deepika’s body, the suspect went missing from the village. Law enforcement tracked him down to Hosapete in the Vijayanagara district.
According to SP Yathish, the suspect had planned the murder due to a souring of their friendship. The accused reportedly left his village two days after the incident, sending a message to his father instructing him not to search for him, according to police sources.
Nitish, the accused in the case, had been on the run since the discovery of Deepika’s lifeless body near the Yoga Narasimha Temple in Melukote, Mandya district. Family members of the 28-year-old victim held Nitish accountable for the heinous crime. After an intensive two-day search, law enforcement successfully apprehended Nitish in Hospet, Vijayanagara district.
The missing private school teacher, Deepika V Gowda, was last seen on January 20 when she left school at 12:06 pm. Her disappearance prompted her husband, Lokesh, to file a missing person report at Melukote Police Station. Subsequent investigations revealed an abandoned two-wheeler belonging to Deepika near Melukote Hills. Family members discovered a disturbing video capturing a quarrel between a woman and a man in the vicinity of the abandoned vehicle.
The search took a grim turn when a foul smell led family members to a specific area, where they unearthed Deepika’s clothing. The subsequent post-mortem confirmed a shift from a missing person case to a murder investigation. Lokesh pointed fingers at Nitish, citing his disappearance since the discovery of the body.
The unfolding narrative suggests a tragic twist to Nitish’s birthday celebration, as he allegedly invited Deepika to Melukote Hills. Their relationship, marred by warnings from Deepika’s family to keep away, escalated into a fatal quarrel, leading to Deepika’s untimely demise. Nitish, now in police custody, has reportedly confessed to the crime, and authorities are diligently probing the motive behind this tragic incident.
