Channapatna, July 26: A 45-year-old man, Lokesh Kumar, a former gram panchayat president and poultry shop owner, was found dead near Kanva dam in Channapatna, Karnataka, his body lying close to his car with an empty poison bottle nearby. What initially appeared to be a suicide soon unravelled into a murder plot. Lokesh had recently discovered his wife’s extramarital affair, which led to fatal consequences. Afraid of exposure and humiliation, his wife Chandrakala and her lover allegedly conspired to kill him. In a bid to mislead police, they staged the scene to look like a suicide.

According to a Times of India report, the case began to unravel when police inspector BK Prakash and sub-inspector Sahana Patil noticed key inconsistencies at the crime scene. One of the first red flags was the missing cap of the poison bottle, which should have been nearby if Lokesh had consumed it himself. Another odd detail was that the deceased was wearing only one slipper. While the investigation was underway, Lokesh’s family alleged that Chandrakala was involved in an extramarital affair and that Lokesh had recently discovered it, providing a possible motive for murder. Karnataka Shocker: Woman Poisons Family for Months To Continue Extramarital Affair, Arrested After Husband Finds Pills While Searching for Phone in Hassan.

These small yet crucial details raised doubts about the suicide theory. Suspicion deepened after an autopsy revealed that poison had concentrated unusually in Lokesh’s chest, suggesting it was forcibly administered. To confirm their suspicions, police ordered a second postmortem at a private super-speciality hospital, which supported the initial findings. Investigators also reviewed CCTV footage that showed a black car near the dam on the night of the incident. It matched the vehicle seen at a hotel and fuel station en route to the location. Karnataka Shocker: 5-Year-Old Girl Strangled to Death for Resisting Sexual Assault Attempt in Hubballi.

Meanwhile, analysis of call records placed Chandrakala in frequent contact with Yogesh, an employee at the General Post Office in Bengaluru. Location data also confirmed that Yogesh was near the dam the night Lokesh died. Under questioning, Chandrakala and Yogesh confessed to orchestrating the killing with four accomplices, who rear-ended Lokesh’s car, attacked him, and forced poison down his throat before staging the crime scene to mislead investigators. Based on their confession, police arrested Chandrakala, Yogesh, Shantaraju, C Anand alias Surya, G Shiva alias Shivalinga, and R Chandan Kumar in connection with the murder.

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(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 26, 2025 11:55 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).