Her husband, who had filed a divorce petition, arrested
A man allegedly murdered his wife by slitting her throat on the court premises in Holenarsipur town on Saturday, leaving the court officials and the public stunned.
Chaitra, 24, who had been working in a garment firm in Bengaluru for the past two years, was murdered allegedly by her husband, Shivakumar, a truck driver.
The couple was at the court to take part in the Lok Adalat in response to a divorce petition filed by Shivakumar. The judge and advocates persuaded both of them for about an hour and asked them to stay together, keeping aside their differences, for the sake of their children. As the couple did not arrive at a consensus, the matter was adjourned.
Chaitra went to the washroom along with her two-year-old daughter after coming out of the court hall. Shivakumar followed her and allegedly slit her throat with a knife. As an advocate, who noticed the incident, screamed in shock, Shivakumar tried to flee.
The crowd and the policemen on duty at the court succeeded to capture him. Chaitra was taken to the government hospital in Holenarsipur and from there she was shifted to the Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences. However, doctors in HIMS declared her brought dead.
Chaitra, a native of Avverahalli in Channarayapatna taluk, married Shivakumar of Tattekere in Holenarsipur six years ago. They have two daughters. Shivakumar had often harassed Chaitra, following which she had filed a police complaint. “She was assaulted many times in the past. The police did not act. Later, he moved the court with a divorce petition,” said Radha, Chaitra’s relative.
Shivakumar had moved the court in 2019 with a petition wanting that Chaitra should stay with him. As she refused to stay with him, he filed a divorce petition. Shivanna, the advocate who represented Shivakumar, said the matter had been going on for two-three years. “The judge in the Lok Adalat persuaded both of them and appealed to them to stay together and lead a happy family for the sake of the children. The matter was adjourned. However, the incident happened when both of them came out of the court hall. It is highly condemnable. He deserves serious punishment,” he said.
Following the incident, many advocates expressed their concern over the safety of litigants and advocates on the court premises. It is not clear if the accused carried the weapon inside the court hall.
Hassan Superintendent of Police Hariram Shankar told the media that the police had arrested the accused and that a probe would reveal the motive. “Our staff at the court succeeded to capture him with the help of local people. They also sent the injured to the hospital immediately. The doctors in Hassan declared her brought dead. She did not survive the attack as her arteries were cut”, he said.
The officer said the police had recovered the weapon. “We will investigate the incident after booking a murder case. We will probe how he carried the weapon inside the court hall,” the officer said.
