Date:16/06/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/06/16/stories/2008061659791000.htm

New Delhi

Udupi MLA’s wife found dead

Staff Reporter

She was found hanging from a ceiling fan in
a flat in New Delhi
Her car was found abandoned at Kunjargiri

NEW DELHI: Thirty-two-year-old Padmapriya Bhat, wife of Udupi MLA K. Raghupati Bhat, was found hanging in a flat at Dwarka here on Sunday.

Ms. Bhat had gone missing since Wednesday.

A team of the Karnataka police arrived here over the weekend and informed the local police that Ms. Bhat was staying in Shama Apartments in Sector 10 of Dwarka sub-city.

A joint police team reached the address on Sunday morning and rang the bell, but there was no response. “When the police broke open the door, Ms. Bhat was found hanging from a ceiling fan. The television was on,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (South-West) Shalini Singh.

Unconfirmed reports said Ms. Bhat had taken the flat on rent three days ago.

She had taken her car from her husband’s house in Udupi to go to her mother’s place at Karnad near Mulki on Wednesday. Her car was later found abandoned below the Kunjargiri Hill in Kunjagiri village on Friday. A mobile telephone, some broken bangles, tablets, a bag containing Rs.10,000 in cash were found in the car.

The Karnataka police had searched for her in the surrounding forest areas. A team of the Anti-Naxalite Force had also taken part in the search.