After evading law enforcement for over two decades, a 75-year-old man wanted in connection with his third wife’s murder has been captured by Gangavati town police in Karnataka’s Koppal district.
The accused, Hanumanth Husenappa, originally hails from Haladhal village in Manvi taluk of Raichur district. At the time of the incident, he was employed as a junior assistant at a government-run primary health centre in Badarli. Following the death of his first wife and a troubled second marriage, Hanumanth entered into a third marriage with Renukamma from Indargi village in Koppal, primarily owing to his respectable government job.
The couple eventually settled in the Lakshmi Camp locality of Gangavati. In 2002, a quarrel escalated into violence, and Hanumanth allegedly stabbed Renukamma to death. He then attempted to conceal the crime by placing her body in a gunny sack and loading it onto a public bus bound for Kampli in Ballari district, pretending it was ordinary baggage.
However, the gruesome discovery was made by the bus conductor, who promptly rerouted the vehicle to the nearest police station and lodged a formal complaint at Gangavati town police station.
Before authorities could detain him, Hanumanth absconded and lived a nomadic life, constantly shifting locations to stay hidden. His luck finally ran out when he resurfaced in Haladhal village, allowing the police to act on reliable intel.
A team led by DySP Siddalingappa Patil and PSI Prakash Mali apprehended him in Atanoor village, Sirwar taluk, and produced him before court.