Bantwal, Jun 28: The body of a male person had been found on the bank of the Netravati river near here. Now it has been identified as of Manju (30), an autorickshaw driver from Hassan.
It has also come to light that it was not a case of drowning, but a murder. Manju had gone missing over the past two weeks. He had bought a Temp Traks vehicle recently and this vehicle bearing Hassan registration was found abandoned at B C Road here on June 14. A case had been filed on June 19 regarding his disappearance, in the Hassan police station.
When the police here informed the Hassan police regarding the abandoned vehicle, they tracked down the owner’s identity and he was the very same man who was missing. Connecting the two leads, the police identified the body as belonging to Manju.
On suspicion, his wife was interrogated and she revealed that she had given contract to her paramour for killing her husband. He too has been arrested. Manju’s body has been kept in the Wenlock hospital mortuary here and is expected to be taken to Hassan on Tuesday.