Killed Wife, Stuffed Body In Bag, Fled For Two Decades— Now Jailed For Life

Hanumanthappa Hussainappa, who had been on the run for nearly two decades after absconding just before the court was to pronounce the quantum of punishment, was arrested by Gangavathi police on June 25. He was produced before the court, which finally delivered the long-delayed judgment on Friday.

Back in 2002, Hanumanthappa, then working as Junior Health Assistant at a primary health centre, murdered his third wife Renuka at Gundamma Camp in Gangavati taluk suspecting her fidelity. When she was asleep, he hit her with an iron rod and strangled her to death on June 20, 2002. He then stuffed her body into a bag, and transported it in a cycle rickshaw to the Gangavathi bus stand. There, he placed the bag on the last seat of a Raichur–Dharmasthala bus to make it appear like ordinary luggage, and then fled the scene. The crime came to light when the bus reached Kampli. The conductor, noticing the unclaimed bag, asked passengers if it belonged to anyone, but received no response.

The passengers touched and inspected the bag, only to discover it contained a body. The bag was then opened by PSI of Kampli Police Station, who was conducting checks near the Kampli check post at the time.

Hanumanthappa was arrested shortly after and confessed to the crime. The case was transferred to Gangavathi Town police and trial began at the court. He appeared before court regularly for hearings—until 2006, when he went missing just when the court which had convicted him was to pronounce the quantum of punishment.

For the next 19 years, Hanumanthappa travelled to various places in Karnataka and also nearby states of Goa, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh and worked as a hotel supplier under different identities and avoiding detection. He finally ran out of luck when he returned to his native village Haladhal in Raichur district a few days ago. He later visited his relative’s house in Atanur village of Shirawar taluk. Acting on a tip-off, Gangavati police tracked him down and arrested him.

“He was arrested on June 25. The court had already convicted him. But he had escaped when the quantum of punishment was to be pronounced. He was produced before the court today,” Koppal Additional SP Hemanth Kumar R told Deccan Chronicle.

The court on Friday sentenced the accused under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000. If the fine is not paid within three months from the date of the verdict, the accused shall undergo an additional one year of simple imprisonment.

Further, under Section 201 of the IPC, the court has sentenced him to three years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000. If this fine is not paid within three months, the accused shall undergo an additional three months of simple imprisonment.

The Court has also ordered that the total fine amount of Rs 15,000 be remitted to the State.