Woman Adds Sleeping Pills In Food To Kill Family, Hide Affair In Karnataka

A 33-year-old woman who tried to kill her family and in-laws by poisoning their food with sleeping pills has been arrested in Karnataka's Hassan district.

The woman, Chaitra, who is married to Gajendra, a resident of Belur taluk in Hassan, was in an extramarital affair and wanted to keep it under wraps, the police said.

The couple got married 11 years ago and have two sons.

The mother of two boys began adding the sleeping pills in their meals with the help of her lover, Shivu, the police said.

Her husband discovered the murder attempt and informed the police in Belur.

The police said they have arrested her and launched an investigation.

The relationship between Gajendra and Chaitra began deteriorating with frequent fights over petty issues in the last three years, the police said.

During this time, Chaitra allegedly had an affair with a man identified as Puneeth. When her husband became aware of it, he informed his in-laws, who tried to resolve the matter between the two.

Chaitra, however, began another affair with a Belur resident, Shivu, who helped her in carrying out the poisoning plan, the police said.

She allegedly decided to kill her family fearing her husband would find out about her new affair with Shivu, the police said.

The Karnataka case has parallels to the "cyanide killer" of Kerala when six members of a family were poisoned to death over a 14-year-period. The accused, Jolly Joseph, was arrested eventually.