Bengaluru: The city police have arrested a 50-year-old woman who had poisoned a woman to death by making her consume cyanide before taking away valuables from her home.
The accused has been identified as Vijayalakshmi, a resident of Ganesha Temple Street in K P Agrahara. She is accused of murdering her 47-year-old friend Mani Megalai, a resident of Cholarapalya on Friday. Vijayalakshmi has been taken into custody by the Magadi Road police.
Police said that Vijayalakshmi and Mani were friends since ten years. Mani’s family had shifted to Cholarapalya after her husband Subramani, a building contractor, had constructed a house there a few years ago.
Mani’s son Illangovan, a BCom student, found his mother dead at the house on Friday afternoon. She was lying near the diwan, which had caught fire. He called the neighbors, who doused the fire and then tried to shift her to hospital. However, they realized that she was dead.
Police said that the FSL experts opined that there was no forcible entry into the house and someone known to the victim was behind this incident. Police started questioning the neighbours, whence it was revealed that they had seen a woman with a bob cut walking out of Mani’s house an hour before Mani was found dead. Based on the information, Vijayalakshmi was picked up for questioning and she confessed to the murder,” the police said.
“She revealed that she had not met Mani after she shifted her house and had met her in a bank recently. As Mani invited her home, she had visited her on Thursday. Mani had opened the almirah to show a new saree that she had purchased and the accused noticed cash, gold and silver articles there. She asked Mani to give her some money as she was in deep financial trouble, as she had to take care of her family. Mani had asked her to come on Friday,” the police explained.
“Vijayalakshmi hatched a plot to murder her friend and take away the valuables. The next day she carried cyanide and a soft drink to Mani’s house. When Mani was busy preparing lunch, Vijayalakshmi told her that she had brought soft drink and asked for two glasses. The accused poured soft drink in it and then again asked for water. When Mani went inside, she put cyanide in one of the glasses and gave it to Mani when she brought water. Mani collapsed in five minutes after drinking the cyanide laced soft drink. Then the accused opened the almirah and took away cash Rs. 7.5 lakh and other valuables. While leaving, she tried to set the diwan, on which Mani was lying, on fire,” the police said.
“Accused Vijayalakshmi’s husband had passed away several years ago and she was taking care of her daughter and son. She had also borrowed loans from others and thus carried out the heinous act,” the police added.
