The accused have been identified as Kusuma alias Harini, 25, and Vinay Kumar, 30. The victims, Abhinandan, 34, a private company employee, and his son, were found dead at their residence on Monday.
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A 25-year-old woman and her alleged male friend have been arrested for allegedly murdering her husband and their four-year-old son at Gudde Basavapura in Chikkabanavara and attempting to make the deaths appear to be the result of a cardiac arrest.

The accused have been identified as Kusuma alias Harini, 25, and Vinay Kumar, 30. The victims, Abhinandan, 34, a private company employee, and his son, were found dead at their residence on Monday.

According to the police, Harini allegedly had a relationship with Kumar for around one-and-a-half years, which frequently led to arguments between her and Abhinandan.

The police suspect that following another quarrel over the relationship on August 15, Harini allegedly decided to eliminate her husband and contacted Kumar to execute a plan they had discussed earlier.

The police said Abhinandan and his son had gone to sleep in another room when Vinay allegedly entered the house. The duo allegedly smothered Abhinandan with a pillow. When he resisted, Harini allegedly assaulted him with a spatula.

The commotion reportedly woke the boy. When he saw the two accused, they allegedly smothered him as well. The police suspect that the accused then placed Abhinandan’s body over the child in an attempt to make it appear that the father had collapsed on the boy and caused his death.

The following morning, Harini allegedly raised an alarm and told relatives that Abhinandan had suffered a cardiac arrest and had fallen on the child, resulting in the boy’s death.

However, the explanation reportedly raised suspicion among the police officers. During preliminary inquiry and spot inspection, investigators noticed injuries on Abhinandan’s body and found the circumstances surrounding the deaths suspicious.

The police reportedly noticed that Harini was evasive during questioning and allegedly changed her version repeatedly. A major breakthrough reportedly came when the investigators found that Harini had deleted contacts, messages and call records from her mobile phone. This raised further suspicion about her involvement.

After sustained questioning, the police said Harini allegedly confessed to the crime and disclosed Kumar’s involvement. The investigators subsequently traced Vinay to his hometown in Ramanagara, where he was allegedly hiding, and arrested him.

Began online

The police said Kumar works at a steel factory and also undertakes part-time work, including providing ratings for star hotels for additional income. Harini was also reportedly working online. The two allegedly became acquainted and entered into a relationship around one-and-a-half years ago.

The police further learnt that Harini had allegedly eloped with Kumar about a year ago, leaving her husband and son. She reportedly returned after around two months after Abhinandan approached the Soladevanahalli police and filed a missing-person complaint.

Mother suspected foul play

Abhinandan’s mother, Bhagyamma, in her complaint, alleged that her daughter-in-law was in an illicit relationship with another man and had earlier left the family home with Kumar.

According to her complaint, Bhagyamma is employed as a Second Division Assistant at a government high school in Kaudle, Maddur taluk, and had been visiting Bengaluru regularly to meet her son and grandson.

She stated that Abhinandan returned to their native place on August 15 and came back to Bengaluru the following day. Around 6.30 a.m., she received a call informing her that her son and grandson had been found dead at home.

Bhagyamma said she reached Bengaluru around 9.15 a.m. and found the bodies inside the house. She alleged that Abhinandan had injuries and bleeding on his head, while the child appeared to have been smothered.

Based on the circumstances, she suspected that her son and grandson had been murdered by Harini, allegedly with the assistance of others, and sought legal action.

Published – August 18, 2026 07:43 pm IST