- By Shubham Bajpai
- Tue, 05 May 2026 07:21 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A 46-year-old man has allegedly killed a woman lecturer by setting her body on fire inside a car, before dying by suicide in Bengaluru Rural district, police said on Tuesday.
The incident took place on Saturday, and the man’s severed body was found by railway police a day after the incident. The police have identified the deceased as Ramanjinappa, a resident of Doddaballapura. He was a contract worker in the tahsildar's office, the officials said.
According to the investigation, the man was already married and had apparently separated from his wife. The charred body found inside the car was of a woman named Saroja, a lecturer with whom the man was in an illicit relationship.
Saroja’s body was found inside a gutted car in an isolated area near the Bashetty Industrial Area in Doddaballapura taluk on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The police said that Saroja was also married and had a son.
On Saturday, Ramanjinappa allegedly borrowed a car from an acquaintance on the pretext of visiting a hospital over a medical emergency.
A senior police official, citing the findings of the preliminary investigations, said the man picked up the lecturer from a bus stop in Devanahalli.
The duo spent a couple of hours driving around Nandi Hills and nearby areas before reaching a secluded spot in Doddaballapura.
The police suspect that an argument ensued inside the car in Doddaballapura, following which he allegedly hit her on the head with a hammer, the officer said.
Reportedly, the man then set the car on fire, using petrol, and is believed to have died by suicide thereafter, police said.
The police were alerted after the locals saw the burning car. The fire department, which rushed to the spot, extinguished the fire.
Saroja’s body was found completely charred inside the vehicle, the officer added. On Sunday, the police found the severed body near railway tracks in Bidadi by the railway police on Sunday.
The official said that the motive and whether the crime was premeditated or impulsive were under investigation.
The police added that Saroja's husband has also filed a complaint accusing Ramanjinappa of killing her, adding that a detailed investigation is underway to establish the exact sequence of events.
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