Three, including woman, arrested in Kodagu for murder and burning of Hyderabad man

The partially burnt body of an unidentified man was discovered on October 8 in an estate near Suntikoppa, Kodagu.

Madikeri: Kodagu Police have arrested three individuals, including a woman, in connection with the murder of a Hyderabad man whose charred remains were found in a Kodagu estate.

The accused include Niharika P (29) and Nikhil Maireddy (28) from Bengaluru’s Ramamurthy Nagar, and Ankul Rana (30) from Haryana, according to Kodagu Superintendent of Police (SP) Ramarajan K. Police have recovered a car and mobile phones linked to the crime.

The partially burnt body of an unidentified man was discovered on October 8 in an estate near Suntikoppa, Kodagu, leading police to form four special teams comprising 16 personnel to solve the case. Given the sensitivity of the incident and the challenging identification due to the condition of the body, investigators used scientific and technical methods to establish the victim’s identity.

More than 500 CCTV camera feeds were scrutinised over a span of 10 days, and digital trails were analysed to trace the vehicle suspected to have been involved in the crime. This painstaking process eventually led to the identification of the victim as Ramesh Kumar, a 54-year-old resident of Hyderabad. The suspects were later identified as his second wife, Niharika, and her two associates.

Providing details of the case, SP Ramarajan stated that Ramesh Kumar had recently sold a property, acquiring approximately ₹8 crore in the process. Niharika reportedly conspired with Rana to murder him and seize the money. On October 1, Niharika invited Rana to Hyderabad and convinced Ramesh to accompany him. Under the pretext of dropping him at his destination, they allegedly strangled Ramesh in his own car. They then returned to Bengaluru and involved Nikhil, who assisted in disposing of the body at Panya estate in Suntikoppa, where they set it ablaze.

Following their investigation, the special team apprehended Niharika and Nikhil on October 22, subsequently arresting Rana in Haridwar.

Further revelations showed that Ramesh Kumar was Niharika’s third husband. Following her first divorce, she married a Haryana man who later had her jailed in a cheating case. During her time in prison, she met Rana’s mother and subsequently became close to Rana. She later married Ramesh Kumar in Hyderabad, moving with him to Bengaluru, where she worked for a reputed firm. There, she met and befriended Nikhil, a veterinary doctor from Ramamurthy Nagar, who later became involved in the crime.

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