Bengaluru woman gets life term for killing daughter who lied she’d passed PU final exams

BENGALURU: A city court Tuesday found a 59-year-old homemaker guilty of murdering her only daughter inside their residence after the latter lied about scoring 95% in her II PU final exams last year. The court sentenced her to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000.
The convict, Bhimaneni Padmini Rani is a resident of Shastrinagar in Banashankari. Police arrested her in 2024 on charges of stabbing Sahiti Shivapriya, 17, to death on April 29.Rani lived with Sahiti, her only child, in her late husband Bhimaneni Maheshwar Rao's house and relied on the income from rents from the building owned by her husband's family.
Public Prosecutor Bhaskar told TOI that Rani attacked Sahiti with two kitchen knives. "Sahiti lied to her mother, saying she scored 95% in her II PU final exams. But on April 28, Sahiti told Rani that she had failed in one subject. Sahiti also blamed her mother for the failure, saying she never supported her. An upset Rani called Sahiti's close friend who revealed that the girl had actually failed in four subjects. A furious Rani questioned Sahiti about the reason behind her poor performance. Sahiti replied in a rude manner," he said.
According to Rani, she was deeply attached to Sahiti. "She was born 16 years after our marriage. My attachment to her grew more after my husband's demise in 2020. But she did not show the same affection. I underwent knee replacement surgery, and at that time, she never treated me with care or love. Still, believing that she would change in the future, I loved her," Rani told police.
Rani decided to kill her daughter and then end her life. "I had boasted to my brothers and other relatives that Sahiti scored 95% and was all set to fly abroad for higher studies. If they come to know the reality, I would have to face humiliation. So, I decided that it is better to die," Rani's statement in the chargesheet read. According to the chargesheet, Rani had told her relatives that her daughter was likely to get a seat in a US university.
Rani initially stabbed Sahiti with a small knife. "But it bent. I went back to the kitchen, collected two more knives, including the one used to cut chicken. Using them, I stabbed her all over the body. Then, I tried to end life by cutting my hand. I stabbed my hand, and it hurt. That's when I called staff from my husband's office. They shifted me to the hospital," Rani's statement read.
After treatment at the hospital, police arrested her. Rani, who was granted bail a few months ago, was present in the court on Tuesday. She is lodged at Central Prison, Bengaluru.