MLA’s friend held in connection with his wife’s suicide

The police have arrested a close friend of BJP MLA Raghupathi Bhat in connection with the suicide of the latter’s wife Padmapriya in New Delhi.

Bhat’s wife Padmapriya, a mother of two, was found hanging in an apartment in New Delhi on June 15, about five days after she went missing under mysterious circumstances from Udupi in coastal Karnataka.

The police arrested Atul Rao, a childhood friend of the BJP MLA, in Mangalore after Bhat lodged a police complaint accusing Atul of kidnapping and abetting the suicide of his wife.

Atul was produced before the court in Manipal, near Mangalore, on Tuesday and sent to six days of judicial custody.

Atul was not only helping Bhat in running his finance firm, but was also close to his family. Soon after completing the last rites of his wife Padmapriya in Udupi, Bhat lodged a complaint with Manipal police on June 19 accusing Atul of coercing his wife to go to New Delhi, where she eventually committed suicide by hanging from the ceiling fan.

Earlier, Padmapriya went missing after she left her house in Udupi to her maternal house in Mulki, about 30 kms away, in a car on June 11. The car was found abandoned on June 14 after which her family members lodged a missing complaint. Police found broken bangles, a SIM card and some cash in the abandoned car.

The search eventually led the police to Shama apartments in Dwaraka in New Delhi and by the time the police reached the place and broken open the door, Padmapriya had ended her life by hanging from the ceiling fan.