The victim Latha was murdered in her house at Cottonpete in Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Cottonpet police have cracked the murder of a home-alone woman in Bengaluru, and arrested her relatives. The relatives allegedly strangled her to death to rob her valuables to recover the loss they had incurred in a scam.

The victim Latha, 50, is a native of Bidar. Her residence was on Dargah Road at Cottonpet in Bengaluru. She welcomed the accused when they visited her home and served snacks. After having snacks, the accused strangled her to death and left with cash and gold valuables.

The accused, Shivappa and Purandar, are distant relatives who used to visit Latha once in a while. They had incurred a huge loss in a ‘rice pulling scam’ and were desperate to get back the money.

The duo are from Bidar and work as electricians in a private company. After much deliberation, they zeroed in on Latha. As per the plan, they came to the city by bus and visited her house.

Latha’s husband, who owns a readymade garment shop at Upparpete, was at work. Her daughter had gone to work while the son was away at school when the accused arrived.

After the murder, the accused returned to the bus stand in an autorickshaw to board a bus back to Bidar. However, the police obtained some clues about the assailants, including CCTV footage, and followed the trail.

The police have taken the accused into custody.