Bengaluru: What began as a secret affair between a married mother of two and a younger man spiralled into a night of blood, betrayal, and death inside a hotel room in South Bengaluru — a crime that has sent chills through the city.
The victim, Harini R, 33, a resident of Hemmigepura in Banashankari 6th Stage, was found brutally murdered inside a room at an OYO hotel in Poornaprajna Housing Society Layout.
The killer — her 25-year-old former lover Yashas, a BCA graduate and tech employee from Kengeri Satellite Town — confessed to stabbing her 13 times after she told him it was over.
Their doomed final meeting began like any other — a private rendezvous, rekindled affection, a few hours of intimacy. But beneath the surface, emotions simmered, fuelled by heartbreak, jealousy, and rage.
Police believe Yashas had already made up his mind. He had brought a knife, concealed it, and waited for the moment Harini would say she was leaving him for good.
At around 9:30 pm on June 6, after spending a few hours in the room, Harini reportedly told Yashas she needed to return home and made it clear that she could no longer continue their relationship.
Enraged, Yashas snapped. He pulled out the knife and attacked her mercilessly, stabbing her neck, chest, back, and abdomen in a fit of fury.
Harini struggled but couldn’t escape. She died on the spot.
What followed was hours of eerie silence. The killer remained in the blood-soaked room with the lifeless body. At 3:15 am, in what appeared to be a desperate act of drama or guilt, Yashas stabbed himself in the chest.
Bleeding, he called a police officer from Kengeri police station and confessed.
By the time Subramanyapura police rushed to the scene, it was too late. Harini lay cold and lifeless on the hotel bed. Her dreams, her secrets, her second life — all ended in a pool of blood.
Yashas was initially treated at a private hospital and then shifted to KIMS. Discharged on Sunday evening, he was arrested and produced in court the next day. He has been remanded to five days of police custody.
A secret that turned deadly
Harini had been married since 2012 to Dasegowda H.P., a 41-year-old farmer. Together, they had two children. Their life, by all accounts, was modest and rooted in village traditions.
But three years ago, Harini met Yashas through a mutual friend at a village fair. What began as friendship slowly turned into a full-blown affair.
When her husband discovered the relationship a few months ago, he informed both families. Harini was counselled and promised to cut ties with Yashas.
For a while, she did. But love — or its twisted version — doesn’t always fade quietly. The two reconnected recently and decided to meet one last time.
Police now believe this meeting was a trap.
“If I can’t have her…”
In his chilling confession, Yashas told police: “If she couldn’t be with me, she shouldn’t be with anyone.”
Investigators say the young techie had grown increasingly possessive and mentally unstable over the past few months.
The idea of Harini returning to her family and leaving him behind was unbearable.
“Harini had made a clear decision to move on,” said DCP South, Lokesh B Jagalasar. “Out of jealousy and rage, Yashas decided to kill her.”
Hotel staff grew suspicious when Harini failed to check out. Two days later, they opened the door and were met with a horrific scene.
A family shattered
In his police complaint, Dasegowda said he had dropped Harini off at a friend’s house in Kengeri and was supposed to pick her up later that evening. Her phone had gone silent. The next morning, police contacted him. His world crumbled.
What remains is a family devastated — two children orphaned of their mother, a husband betrayed and broken, and a community gripped by a brutal reminder of what obsession can lead to.
Police probe continues
Subramanyapura police have registered a case of murder. Investigations are ongoing into how long Yashas had planned the crime and whether anyone else had prior knowledge.
For now, Yashas remains in custody — and the city mourns a woman who paid the ultimate price for a love that turned lethal.
Timeline of a tragedy
- 2012: Harini marries Dasegowda; they have two children
- 2022: Harini meets Yashas at a village fair
- 2024-end: The affair is discovered; families intervene
- June 6, 2025: Final meeting at a hotel; Harini is murdered
- June 7, 3:15 am: Yashas calls police after stabbing himself
- June 9: Hotel staff alert authorities
- June 10: Yashas is arrested and remanded in police custody
