Karnataka man gets life for killing brother over affair

The Story in Brief

A Tumakuru court has sentenced Raja Naik (47) to life imprisonment for murdering his younger brother Ravichandra (40) after he discovered Naik’s affair with his own wife. The co-accused, Savitri Bai, died of a severe lung infection last month before the trial ended. The murder took place on April 2, 2022, at Kamalanaika Tanda in Sira taluk. Ravichandra was strangled and buried under the dirt floor of his half-built house. Savitri Bai told relatives he had gone to Bengaluru for work. The deception lasted nearly two months, until family members pressed her to contact him for land registration. She then confessed. Police exhumed the body and used DNA from Ravichandra’s son to confirm the identity. The prosecution relied on the DNA report, extra-judicial confessions, and consistent testimony from family members. Investigators noted Naik had faced trial in 2019 for the murder of his first wife but was acquitted for lack of evidence.