In January final yr, the disappearance of a faculty instructor shocked Melukote, a peaceable and serene temple city in Karnataka’s Mandya district. Deepika Lokesh, a 28-year-old instructor, completed work by midday and left college—however by no means returned residence. The frantic seek for her whereabouts and the police investigation that adopted uncovered a story of infidelity, an Instagram friendship, and a merciless homicide.
January 20, 2024. For Deepika, a instructor at SET Public Faculty, the day started like some other. She left residence on her scooter and headed to highschool. After ending work by midday, Deepika left college as typical, however didn’t return residence. After frantically trying to find her, her father, Venkatesh S, filed a lacking individual’s criticism.
Deepika had been married to Lokesh for 9 years and had an eight-year-old son. “She had left the home on her scooter. We had been involved about her security as she had not left with any valuables or baggage,” a police officer who was a part of the investigating staff recalled.
The police started by monitoring her cell phone, however it was switched off. “We checked her name element information (CDR) and located that she ceaselessly referred to as just a few folks. We contacted these folks and questioned them. Considered one of them, a person named Nitish, was lacking,” the official stated.
With that, the police had their first clue.
An argument caught on a vacationer’s video
On January 22, the police acquired a video of a person and a girl combating on the foothills of Shri Yoganarasimha Swamy Temple hills. “We knew the color of Deepika’s garments as talked about within the lacking individual’s criticism. It matched the one within the video. Some vacationers had recorded the battle and shared the video. We visited the place and located an deserted Honda Dio scooter,” the official recalled.
Together with the police, Deepika’s father Venkatesh, husband Lokesh, their family, and different locals began looking out within the bushes close to the foothills. “There was a foul odor, so we adopted it. Ultimately, we discovered a physique half-buried within the mud. It was Deepika’s,” the official added.
Then Mandya superintendent of police (SP) Yatish N, deputy SP Murali H R and Melukote Police Inspector Siddappa H S visited the spot.
Story continues beneath this advert
It was confirmed to be a case of homicide. A number of groups had been shaped to nab the killer.
An Instagram friendship that soured
Because the police investigation intensified, Lokesh voiced his suspicions about Nitish. “Upon checking their cellphone particulars, we discovered that they had been in a relationship. Lokesh later confirmed this,” the officer stated.
Nitish, 21, the son of an area Congress chief, Narasimhe Gowda, labored in a personal agency in Mysuru. He and Deepika linked by way of Instagram, the place she was lively with a substantial variety of followers, the police stated.
“Nitish comes from a reasonably rich household within the area. He befriended Deepika by way of Instagram after he got here throughout her reels. In actual fact, that they had carried out some reels collectively, the place he referred to as her akka (sister), however they had been in a relationship,” a police officer stated.
Story continues beneath this advert
Lokesh additionally allegedly advised the police that he had warned Nitish to not speak to his spouse 15 days earlier than Deepika went lacking.
A primary suspect
Nitish turned the prime suspect within the case. When the police went to his home in search of info, they allegedly learnt that he had despatched an audio notice to his father, saying that he had dedicated a mistake. “He advised his father to rearrange his sister’s wedding ceremony, and never anticipate him,” the officer stated.
“For us, it was a reconfirmation that Nitish was the killer. We tracked him close to Hospet in Vijayanagara district, arrested him, and introduced him to Melukote. Throughout questioning, he stated that he was in a relationship with Deepika, however she had began avoiding him, which he couldn’t settle for,” the officer added.
It was Nitish’s birthday on January 20. In response to the police, he requested Deepika to fulfill him one final time. The duo met on the foothills of Melukote hills. “He had not carried weapons. It didn’t appear like he was ready to kill her. In a match of rage, he used her dupatta to kill her on the spot. Later, he buried the physique earlier than fleeing from the spot,” the police officer stated.
Story continues beneath this advert
The police arrested Nitish and booked him below Part 302 (homicide) of the Indian Penal Code. Nitish spent a yr in jail, after which he was launched on bail.
The police officer claimed that Nitish was obsessive about Deepika. “They had been having an affair, however she was in no state to go away her husband and child for Nitish. Then again, Nitish was unclear about the way forward for his relationship. However when she began to keep away from him, he couldn’t take it, and he killed her,” the officer stated.
Months later, a revenge killing
However the homicide case didn’t finish there. In Could this yr, Nitish’s father, Narasimhe, was allegedly murdered by Venkatesh, Deepika’s father, at Manikyahalli in Mandya district. Venkatesh, devastated by his daughter’s demise, was allegedly planning to kill Nitish. Nonetheless, after stepping out on bail, Nitish had stayed away from the village.
Narasimhe, then again, was getting ready for his daughter’s wedding ceremony in Dharmasthala. When he learnt about this, Venkatesh allegedly determined to kill him to avenge his daughter’s demise. Venkatesh stabbed Narasimhe in public and was arrested inside hours.
Story continues beneath this advert
Following his father’s homicide, Nitish claimed that he was harmless and didn’t kill Deepika.