A clandestine relationship between a divorced government employee and a college professor in Bengaluru ended tragically last week. The bodies of both individuals were discovered a day apart by police. The woman's body was found completely charred inside a car, while the man's body was discovered on railway tracks, severed into pieces.
Details of the Incident
C Ramanjinappa, 45, a resident of Marasandra near Rajanakunte, worked at the Devanahalli taluk office. He was in a relationship with Saroja J, 40, a Kannada professor at a private college in Devanahalli, according to police.
On Saturday, at 6:30 am, Ramanjinappa borrowed a hatchback car from his friend Suresh Kumar, citing a family medical emergency. He drove to Devanahalli and picked up Saroja at the local bus stop around 9:30 am. The pair reportedly spent the morning touring Nandi Hills and surrounding areas. By late afternoon, they reached the secluded outskirts of Jinkebachhahalli in Doddaballapur, where the day's leisure trip took a dark turn.
The Murder
According to police investigations, a violent confrontation occurred inside the vehicle. Ramanjinappa allegedly struck Saroja on the head with a hammer. After she lost consciousness, he moved her body to the back seat, doused the vehicle with petrol, and set it ablaze. Witness accounts and forensic evidence suggest that as Ramanjinappa set the car on fire, the flames caught his own clothing, causing burns before he fled the scene.
Alerted by locals who reported a car in flames and a man fleeing, Doddaballapur rural police, along with fire tenders, rushed to the spot and extinguished the fire. They then discovered a charred body inside the vehicle.
Discovery of the Bodies
By then, the car owner received an alert on his mobile stating that his vehicle had been in an accident. The car had an auto collision notification feature. Panicked, Suresh Kumar called Ramanjinappa, but his mobile was switched off, a police officer said.
Later, police identified the vehicle through its chassis number and contacted Kumar. He arrived at the scene and told police that his friend Ramanjinappa had taken the vehicle in the morning. A special team led by police inspector Sadiq Pasha was formed to crack the case, a senior police officer said.
On Sunday morning, railway police contacted Pasha, reporting that they had found Ramanjinappa's body on railway tracks near Bidadi in Bengaluru South. The body was completely mangled with limbs severed. Since police had launched a manhunt for Ramanjinappa, an announcement had been made through all police control rooms of the state.
An Aadhaar card found near the body identified the deceased as Ramanjinappa. Earlier, on Saturday night, the police control room had flashed a report that a woman named Saroja from Devanahalli was missing. Police had collected burnt ornaments from the body inside the car. They called Saroja's husband, Jayashankar, who recognized them as his wife's, an investigating officer said.
On Sunday afternoon, Jayashankar registered a police complaint against Ramanjinappa for killing his wife.
