Mother kills alcoholic son after years of abuse

Police unravel chilling case; 200 CCTV cameras help solve murder

Mysore/Mysuru: In a chilling case, Nazarbad Police have arrested a 60-year-old woman for allegedly killing her son after years of harassment for money to buy liquor. The accused, Manjula, 60, is said to have murdered her son Ramesh (44), a resident of Kesare in N.R. Mohalla.

The case came to light on Apr. 15, when Police found the body of an unidentified man with a crushed head in a vacant site near Tavarekatte at the foot of Chamundi Hill. Passers-by had alerted the Police.

With no immediate clues, investigators and Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO) began efforts to establish the victim’s identity. The deceased was later identified as Ramesh, a resident of Kurimandi 10th Cross near Rama Mandira in Kesare.

The probe eventually led to a shocking revelation that his own mother was behind the murder.

Addicted to liquor

Police said, Manjula, who has two sons, had been facing severe hardship for several years. Her elder son is paralysed and bedridden, while Ramesh, though physically fit, was unemployed and addicted to alcohol. He would frequently demand money from his mother to buy liquor and allegedly assault her when she refused. Manjula, who worked as a domestic help, had endured the abuse for years.

According to the Police, the continued harassment drove her to take the extreme step. She allegedly attacked Ramesh with a stick and later smashed his head with a stone, killing him on the spot. She then attempted to cover up the crime.

CCTV trail cracks case

The case, which initially had no leads, was solved through analysis of CCTV footage. After body was found, Police examined footage from several locations but found no immediate clues.

A breakthrough came from the shorts worn by the deceased. While scanning CCTV footage from shops and junctions along Chamundi Hill Road, officers spotted a man in an autorickshaw wearing similar shorts.

Travel in 3 autorickshaws

Police tracked the autorickshaw and found that it had come from the Jayadeva Hospital area. Further footage showed a man and a woman walking together nearby, raising suspicion.

Investigators then traced their movements across three different autorickshaws. One ride originated from the Outer Ring Road and was linked to another from Kesare Kurimandi. Local enquiries helped identify the victim as Ramesh.

As the investigation progressed, suspicion fell on his mother. Manjula was taken into custody and, during questioning, confessed to the crime, revealing the motive and sequence of events.

The team has done an excellent job. We had no initial clues, no missing person complaint and nothing significant at the scene. Despite this, the officers, working under the guidance of the DCP (Law & Order), solved the case with commendable professionalism. — Seema Latkar, City Police Commissioner 

Over 200 CCTV cameras scanned

Police reviewed footage from more than 200 CCTV cameras across Mysuru during the investigation. The visuals helped reconstruct the movements of the accused and the victim.

On Thursday night, Manjula was taken to Tavarekatte for spot mahazar. Her statement was recorded before she was produced before the Court. She is said to have committed the crime on Apr. 14 at around 8.30 am. The Court has remanded her to Judicial Custody.

The investigation was carried out under the supervision of DCPs Dr. Harsha Priyamvada (Law and Order) and K.S. Sundar Raj (Crime and Traffic) and Devaraja ACP K. Rajendra.

Nazarbad Inspector M. Mahadevswamy led the operation, assisted by Sub-Inspectors P. Nataraj, N. Anil Kumar, Rangaswamy and M.L. Siddesh. The team also included staff members B.V. Prakash, Purushottam, S. Satish Kumar, Gopal, Praveen Kumar, Sanju, Sandesh Kumar, Venkatesh, Mohammad Ismail, Suresh, Manjunath, Abdul Rehman, Shivaprasad, Chinnappa, Jayakumar, Krishna, Parashuram, Chaitra, Nandini and Kumar from the Call Detail Record (CDR) unit.

Murder carried out alone

Investigators said, Manjula acted alone. She lured her son to the deserted Tavarekatte area, attacked him with a wooden log and then smashed his head with a stone. Sources said that during the scene reconstruction, she showed no remorse and reportedly told the Police, “I have surrendered my tormenting son to Goddess Chamundi.”