Bengaluru: Wife, mother-in-law arrested for real estate agent's murder
Bengaluru, Mar 25 (PTI): Days after a 37-year-old real estate agent was found murdered near an under-construction building in BGS Layout, his wife and mother-in-law were arrested in connection with the crime, police said on Tuesday.
Yashasvini (19) and her mother, Hema Bhai (37), were arrested on Monday for the murder of her husband, Lokanath Singh, which took place in Soladevanahalli on March 22, they said.
Yashasvini had married Singh a few months ago against her parents' wishes. However, she later discovered his extramarital affair, which led to frequent fights between the couple. She eventually moved back to her parents' house.
Singh allegedly pressured her to return home and also harassed her parents over the issue.
He even threatened her, saying that if she did not return, he would take her mother instead, police officials said.
Citing preliminary investigations, a senior police officer stated that Yashasvini had laced her husband's food with sleeping pills to make him drowsy. When he started losing consciousness, her mother allegedly stabbed him two to three times on the left side of his neck with a knife.
The crime came to light when a passerby discovered Singh’s body near the under-construction building in BGS Layout, Bilijaji village, and alerted the police.
Yashasvini did not want to continue her marriage and intended to divorce Singh, police added.
On March 22, she contacted Singh and asked him to meet her near Bagalur. After a conversation, they drove to Soladevanahalli. Singh had also brought some beer bottles with him. As per their plan, her mother followed them in an auto-rickshaw, police said.
Since Singh had multiple cheating cases against him, police initially suspected business rivalry as a motive for his murder.
"A case of murder was registered, and we arrested Singh's wife and mother-in-law in connection with the incident," the officer added.
A Realtor loknath (37) was #murdered by his wife Yashasvini & mother-in-law Hema,over his alleged #extramaritalaffair ,illegal business & #torture in #Bengaluru on Saturday.Police have arrested both.They mixed his food with sleeping pills & later killed him at an isolated place. pic.twitter.com/ZWmgzKqHE8
— Yasir Mushtaq (@path2shah) March 24, 2025
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U.S. names India, China as ‘primary sources’ of illicit fentanyl trafficking
New Delhi: The United States has reportedly identified India and China as key players in the illicit fentanyl trade, naming them as "state actors" who contribute to the direct and indirect supply of precursor chemicals and equipment used by drug traffickers.
“A diverse set of foreign actors are targeting US health and safety, critical infrastructure, industries, wealth, and government,” Washington said in its 2025 Annual Threat Assessment report released by the office of the Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, reported Scroll on Thursday.
According to the report, fentanyl and other synthetic opioids were responsible for over 52,000 deaths in the U.S. between November 2023 and October 2024. It added that certain transnational criminal organisations were producing and trafficking large amounts of illicit drugs that were endangering the lives and livelihoods of U.S. citizens.
The report highlighted that transnational criminal organisations (TCOs), such as the Sinaloa Cartel and the New Generation Jalisco Cartel, based in Mexico, remain the primary producers and suppliers of illicit drugs like fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine to the U.S. market. However, non-state groups are said to be supported by "state actors like China and India as sources of precursors and equipment for drug traffickers”.
“China remains the primary source country for illicit fentanyl precursor chemicals and pill pressing equipment, followed by India,” alleged the report.
The report follows a recent federal case in Washington DC, where an India-based chemical manufacturing company and three of its employees were charged with illegally importing fentanyl precursors. Additionally, two top-ranking employees of a Hyderabad-based company were arrested in New York City last week in connection with the case.
