Bengaluru: A debt-ridden cloth merchant and his associate have been arrested on the charges of murdering a 72-year-old widow farmer at Koratagere in Tumakuru district.The victim, M Ratnamma of Dasalakunte village, was found murdered with her legs and hands tied near her agricultural land. The incident came to light when her daughter-in-law Bhagyamma went in search of her. The miscreants had stuffed cloth into Ratnamma’s mouth to prevent her from shouting, and the same suffocated her, police said.Bhagyamma filed the complaint a week back, stating that two men, claiming to be “squirrel catchers,” had met Ratnamma in a coconut grove. The men were allegedly seen on the agricultural land on June 16 afternoon. “Also, a few villagers had seen them during previous visits. We detained them and they confessed to having killed her in a bid to rob her of 80 grams of gold,” an officer said.The accused are M Gangadhar, 24, of Bettada Hosahalli in Nelamangala and his associate U Surya, 25, from Hosakerehalli. Surya is a cook, and Gangadhar allegedly gave him Rs 30,000 to help him commit the crime. “Prime suspect Gangadhar had a loan of Rs 17 lakh and conspired with Surya to rob the lone woman,” an officer said.
