Hassan: District police have cracked the murder of a farmer allegedly beaten to death with an iron rod by arresting four persons, including his wife, for conspiring to kill him over an illicit relationship.The deceased, Mohan, was a resident of Basavanatti village in Arasikere taluk. Police said he had leased land from Rangappa of Basaveshwara Nagar and was cultivating ginger.On the night of Sept 4, Mohan left home around 9pm to water his field. Around 9.45pm, he was found unconscious near the field with grievous head injuries. His wife, Jayalakshmi, later lodged a complaint at Gandasi police station.Three days later, Mohan’s brother lodged a complaint alleging that Jayalakshmi was having an illicit relationship with Dhananjayamurthy and suspecting that he and his associate Jagadish had murdered Mohan.Police detained Dhananjayamurthy and Jagadish for questioning, during which the alleged conspiracy came to light.According to police, Jayalakshmi, Dhananjayamurthy, Jagadish and Puttaraju had hatched the murder plot during a meeting in a shed on farmland. They had initially planned to kill Mohan on Sept 3 but deferred it as another person was present in the field.Police said that on Sept 4, Jagadish engaged Mohan in conversation near the ginger field while Puttaraju and Dhananjayamurthy allegedly attacked him with an iron rod. Jagadish later also assaulted him with the rod. Mohan died of the injuries, police said.All four accused have been arrested and further investigation is under way.
