Twig, pug marks and a murder plot: Security guard kills Mysuru woman, fakes leopard attack

MYSURU: A security guard who murdered a 63-year-old woman for gold ornaments worth Rs 7.5 lakh in Mysuru district tried to pass it off as an attack by a leopard.

However, his luck ran out within five days when police reconstructed the events, leading to his arrest on Saturday.

According to Nanjangud Rural police, Shivarudramma, from Kasuvinahalli, went missing on May 25 after she left home for her agricultural land. The police registered a missing complaint and launched a search operation.

Guard used twig to create pug marks on mud around farm
During investigation, a few villagers informed police that Mahadevappa, 58, who was working as a security guard in a local farm, would know about the incident.

Based on the tip off, a police probe team picked up Mahadevappa as part of its investigations. Since the deceased woman's gold and silver ornaments weighing 53gm were missing, police questioned the guard about the missing jewellery too.

With pressure mounting, Mahadevappa, though not a suspect yet, immediately cooked up a story of leopard attack. But it had many gaps.

During investigations, he confessed on the day of the incident, Shivarudramma sought his help to pluck leaves of a Bilvapatra tree to offer them in a local Shiva temple. As she was wearing gold and silver ornaments, he decided to rob her.

According to police, Mahadevappa informed Shivarudramma that offering sandalwood leaves is sacred to Lord Shiva and it was available in the farm where he was working. When she went with him, he pushed her into a rainwater-harvesting trench. Later, he murdered her and hid the ornaments in another trench.

The suspect reportedly then picked up a twig and ran it through the mud around the farm to give an impression of pugmarks left behind by a wild animal. Police knew the area was free of any incidents of wild animal attacks. It appeared to be a murder for gain.