Man Kills Grandmother After She Refused To Eat Gobi Manchurian Dish, Hides Corpse In Wardrobe

A man who reportedly killed his grandmother with the help of his mother over a Gobi Manchurian dish in Bengaluru, India in 2016 was arrested six years later in Kohlapur, Maharashtra, India.

The accused, Shashikala, 50, and her son Sanjay Vasudev Rao, 27, reportedly engaged in a heated argument with Sanjay's grandmother Shantha Kumari, 70, after Kumari refused to eat a packet of Gobi Manchurian dish that Sanjay brought home in August 10, 2016. Infuriated, Sanjay allegedly killed his grandmother and buried her body inside the house with the help of his mother, Hindustan Times reported.

After murdering Kumari, Sanjay reached out to his friend Nandeesh for help to bury the body. The trio then allegedly buried the body in a wardrobe in the house by covering it up with charcoal and cement. When neighbors asked about Kumari, Sanjay and his mother Shashikala told their neighbors that Kumari had gone to Shivamogga in Karnataka. Five months after the murder, in February 2017, the mother and the son vacated the house.

Three months later, in May 2017, while renovating the house, the house owner found the decomposed mortal remains in the wardrobe and informed the police. After the body was found, police picked up Nandeesh, for questioning and booked him for allegedly destroying the crime evidence, the Indian Express reported.

Following this, police approached banks with details of Sanjay’s personal information. Eventually, they found a bank account in Kolhapur with Sanjay’s credentials. Following this, the police team nabbed Sanjay and his mother from near a bus station in Kolhapur on October 2, 2022.

After leaving the house in 2017, the mother and son duo reportedly fled to Maharashtra's Kolhapur. Sanjay quit his aeronautical engineering and was working as a waiter at a restaurant to keep a low profile. Meanwhile, his mother worked as a maid in Kolhapur.

According to investigating officers, Kumari was a conservative woman and used to quarrel with her daughter and grandson for not following their rituals. Kumari also insisted they take a bath after every time they stepped out of the house and never allowed outside food. When Sanjay got her Gobi Manchurian dish from a restaurant on the day of the murder, Kumari refused to eat it and threw it away. Enraged, and in a fit of rage, Sanjay smashed a rolling pin on her head, which resulted in her death.

According to officers, the accused initially wanted to transport Kumari’s body to Shivamogga and make it appear as if she died naturally, however, the plan did not work.