BANGALORE : The Bangalore Rural district police have arrested a constable attached to the Ijur police station in Ramanagara taluk for allegedly murdering a woman head constable and taking away her gold ornaments.

The police said that constable Manjunath (28) allegedly strangulated Pushpalatha (30), a head constable at the Ijur police station, and took away her gold ornaments on October 28.

The accused had burnt her face after dousing it with petrol, before dumping her body at a secluded place in Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), the police said.

According to police, on the night of October 28, Pushpalatha's husband Shivarudraiah had lodged a complaint with the Ijur police that his wife, who had gone for a morning walk, had not returned home.

Earlier in the day, they said, Manjunath had taken Pushpalatha in a car to teach her driving.

On interrogation, the accused confessed that after strangulating Pushpalatha to death, he had taken her body to Kamasamudra and dumped it there, police said.

The police have recovered a pair of gold bangles and a gold chain belonging to Pushpalatha.

The accused had reportedly pledged them to a pawnbroker in Ramanagara.

The police have also recovered Pushpalatha's `thali' and her house keys. Manjunath had allegedly thrown them near Janapadaloka on the Bangalore-Mysore highway. The police also got him to help them trace Pushpalatha's body.

Keen to learn driving

Police sources said that Pushpalatha was keen on learning how to drive a car. A few days ago, they said, Manjunath had also taught her to ride a motorcycle.

"While her intention was to learn driving, Manjunath had plans to kill her and rob her of her gold ornaments to clear his debts," a senior official told The Hindu on Saturday.

The car in which the accused had taken Pushpalatha reportedly belonged to a businessman from Ramanagara. Manjunath had borrowed it from him promising to buy it a few days ago, the official said.

Manjunath is from Anekal taluk. Pushpalatha's husband Shivarudraiah, a native of Magadi, works as a hotel manager in Bangalore, police said.

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