Kodagu police arrested three in connection with murder of Telangana businessman

Madikeri : Kodagu police cracked murder case of a Telangana businessman in 15 days. On October 8, a half-decomposed body was discovered in Panya Estate near Suntikoppa in Kushalanagar taluk, Kodagu district. The victim had allegedly been murdered elsewhere and subsequently burned with petrol. The body had been set ablaze approximately three to four days prior to its discovery, leaving authorities puzzled about the victim's identity.

The investigation quickly escalated as Superintendent of Police Ramajarajan took a personal interest in this high-profile case. Four special teams comprising 16 officers were formed to probe the incident. Police began reviewing CCTV footage of vehicles operating in the area around the time of the murder. The crime scene was located just a kilometer from the highway, making it imperative to examine data from thousands of vehicles in the Madikeri, Suntikoppa, Kushalanagar, and Madapur regions.

In addition, investigators scrutinized over 500 CCTV recordings from Madikeri to Tumkur. Their efforts ultimately zeroed in on a red Benz car, which was found to belong to Ramesh, a 54-year-old real estate businessman from Telangana. As the investigation continued, it was discovered that Ramesh had been missing for a week.

Kodagu police, collaborating with their counterparts in Telangana, began gathering information about Ramesh's family. During the investigation, suspicion fell on Ramesh's second wife, Niharika, as well as her companion, veterinarian Dr. Nikhil, and her friend Ankur Rana. Niharika was eventually taken into custody, where she revealed the shocking details of the crime.

Niharika, 29, hails from Mongeer Nagar in Telangana. After her father's death when she was just 16, her mother remarried, and Niharika became a mother herself soon after. A divorce followed due to marital discord, but she excelled academically, later graduating in engineering and working at various companies, including TCS in Bangalore, where she earned a salary of ₹1.2 lakh.

While living in Haryana, Niharika became involved in a financial scam that landed her in jail. Upon her release, she returned to Bangalore and married Ramesh in 2018, who funded her luxurious lifestyle. However, tensions arose over financial disagreements, particularly regarding Ramesh's refusal to provide her with the ₹8 crore she expected.

In a chilling twist, Niharika, with Ankur's assistance, devised a plan to murder Ramesh. She lured him to Uppal near Hyderabad on October 1, where he was strangled to death. Niharika and her accomplices then transported the body to Kodagu, where they disposed of it in a coffee plantation, covering it with a blanket and setting it on fire to conceal their crime.

Despite appearing calm in the aftermath, Niharika's facade crumbled when she attempted to file a missing persons report for Ramesh. The Kodagu police quickly apprehended her, along with Ankur and Dr. Nikhil. The investigation continues, as authorities look into the suspicious disappearance of Ankur's wife and the possibility of further crimes connected to this shocking case.