Wife ‘murdered’ by husband, in-laws, staged as road mishap

By Sumesh Rajan | May 25, 2025 

 

Belagavi, Karnataka, INDIA: In a chilling case of domestic violence and premeditated murder, a 34-year-old woman was allegedly strangled to death by her in-laws on the instructions of her husband, in Karnataka’s Belagavi district, with the perpetrators attempting to disguise the crime as a motorcycle accident.

 

The incident took place on the night of May 17 near Malabadi village in Athani taluk. The victim, Renuka Santosh Honakande, a qualified homeopathic doctor (BHMS), had reportedly been living under mounting domestic pressure after being unable to conceive.

 

According to the Belagavi Superintendent of Police, Bheemashankar Guled, the woman’s in-laws—Kamanna Honakande and Jayashree Honakande—initially claimed that Renuka died after falling off a motorcycle. They alleged she was riding pillion behind Jayashree, with Kamanna driving, when the purported accident occurred.

 

However, inconsistencies in their statements and the suspicious nature of Renuka’s injuries prompted a more thorough investigation. A post-mortem examination revealed that Renuka had died of asphyxiation, not blunt-force trauma typical of road accidents.

 

“During questioning, Kamanna was unable to provide coherent explanations and eventually confessed to the murder,” SP Guled said in a statement on May 21.

 

A Sinister Plot Unfolds

 

The investigation revealed that Renuka had gone to visit a temple earlier that evening with her mother-in-law. The two women later boarded a bus and disembarked around four kilometres from their village. Kamanna then picked them up on his motorcycle.

 

Roughly a kilometre into the journey, at an isolated spot, Kamanna and Jayashree allegedly strangled Renuka with her saree. They then attempted to destroy evidence and stage the death as a road accident. Police say the body was tied to the rear of the motorcycle and dragged for nearly 200 metres to simulate injuries consistent with a high-speed fall.

 

Initial reports had mentioned a distance of around 120 feet, but updated forensic analysis and witness accounts confirmed the longer distance of body dragging.

 

Husband's Role and Motive

 

Renuka was married to Santosh Honakande, a mechanical engineer employed in Maharashtra, since 2020. Though their marriage was reportedly stable in its early years, tensions escalated after Santosh discovered that Renuka was epileptic and unable to bear children. Police say he began an extramarital affair with a woman in Maharashtra who is now pregnant.

 

Investigators believe Santosh orchestrated the murder, instructing his parents to carry out the crime while he attempted to maintain distance to avoid direct implication.

 

“While Santosh did not commit the act himself, he was the mastermind behind the plan. His parents executed the murder based on his instructions,” the SP confirmed.

 

Arrests and Legal Proceedings

 

Following Kamanna’s confession, all three accused—Santosh, Kamanna, and Jayashree Honakande—were arrested and placed in judicial custody. They have been charged with murder, criminal conspiracy, and attempting to destroy evidence.

 

The murder came to light after Renuka’s relative, Harish Mallikarjun Harali, filed a formal complaint expressing doubts about the alleged accident. His intervention prompted police to pursue the matter more aggressively, ultimately leading to the unravelling of the staged narrative.

 

The case has sparked widespread outrage, highlighting ongoing concerns over gender-based violence, societal stigma surrounding infertility, and the vulnerability of women in patriarchal domestic structures.

 

Authorities have assured that the investigation will proceed swiftly and impartially