A hair dryer, A bomb, and A betrayal: How one man’s murder plot went horribly wrong

Bengaluru(The Uttam Hindu): Siddappa Sheelavant, a 35-year-old quarry worker from Kushtagi Taluk in Koppal district, has been arrested for a murder plot that went awry in Ilkal town, Bagalkote district. The incident, which took place on November 15, involved a hair dryer rigged with a detonator, intended to kill one Shasikala. However, the device exploded when Shasikala's neighbor, Basava Rajeshwari, opened it and turned it on, causing severe injuries to her palm.

Sheelavant, who worked in a granite company, was well-versed in handling explosives due to his profession. He harbored suspicions that Shasikala was responsible for the growing rift between him and his girlfriend, Rajeshwari. Rajeshwari, a widow, had recently struck up a friendship with Shasikala and had begun distancing herself from Sheelavant. Enraged by this, Sheelavant devised the plot to kill Shasikala by planting the detonator in the hair dryer, which he sent to her address.

On November 15, Shasikala received the package but, busy with other tasks, passed it to Rajeshwari, who lived next door. When Rajeshwari opened and switched on the hair dryer, the bomb detonated, injuring her. Following the incident, police arrested Sheelavant, who confessed to the crime, admitting it was meant to target Shasikala but inadvertently harmed his girlfriend instead.