BENGALURU: A 45-year-old hotelier was stabbed to death allegedly by his wife and her lover in the midnight of December 2 in Tumakuru, around 70 km from here. Acting quickly, police arrested the accused, seized the weapon and the vehicle used by them to commit the crime.

R Hanumegowda of Hombaiahnapalya in Tumakuru paid with his life for catching his wife H Vidya, 29 and her lover, G Satish alias Jacki, 22, in a compromising position.

Hanumegowda had married Vidya, his aunt's granddaughter, 13 years ago and the couple had a 11-year-old son.

"When he was 13, Hanumegowda went to Mumbai in 1987. He worked as a cleaner, supplier and a cook before opening his own hotel in late 2000. He returned to Tumakuru after sustaining losses in 2013," sources said.

He then opened a dhaba near Kyatasandra, which again ran into losses. "In 2017, he went to Mumbai and joined a hotel. Vidya, who remained in Tumakuru became close to Satish, an auto driver. Her family had warned her about it," police said.

Hanumegowda returned to Tumakuru in February and invested in a relative's dhaba. "Every night, he would sleep in the dhaba. On December 2, he got a call that Satish was seen in his house at 11pm. When he rushed there, the accused stabbed him to death and fled," police said.