On August 23, 2025, 24-year-old Siddaraju and 22-year-old Darshita checked into Room 116 of the SJRS Lodge in Belur, Karnataka, pretending to be a married couple. Darshita, who was already married to a man in Kerala and had a child, had returned to her maternal village and was persuaded by her former lover Siddaraju to meet him under the pretext of visiting a temple. When Darshita refused Siddaraju's demands to leave her husband and marry him, Siddaraju executed a premeditated 'Plan B'. He bound Darshita's hands and legs on the bed, placed a custom explosive device into her mouth, moved to the bathroom area, and detonated it via a mobile phone connection. The localized blast destroyed her facial structure, killing her instantly. Siddaraju then opened a window to clear smoke, locked the room door from the outside, and went to the reception to ask for food directions to establish an alibi. Upon returning, he claimed the room door was stuck and had staff open it, subsequently inventing a false narrative that her phone had exploded while charging. However, forensic investigators discovered electric wiring, gelatin/explosive remnants, and a steel rod, which disproved his story. Under police interrogation, Siddaraju confessed to constructing the mouth bomb and murdering Darshita after she rejected his marriage proposal.
Country: India
State/Province: Karnataka, India
City/Region: Belur
Incident Type: Murder
Relationship Status: Rejected proposal
Relationship Duration:
Incident Date: Aug. 23, 2025
Relationship Origins:
Relationship Stages:
Contributing Factors:
Red Flags:
Motives:
Relationship Outcomes:
How the relationship or connection began.
Important relationship phases recorded for this case.
Reported red flags or early concern points.
Contributing factors and possible motives from the available sources.
2025-08-23
Recorded relationship or case outcome.
English labels are shown first. Original-language titles are preserved for source verification.
Crime Tak - India
Love obsession
The case reflects an escalation of obsessive dynamic where the offender refused to accept the victim's marriage to another person. When attempts at persuasion failed, the suspect resorted to premeditated violence, constructing an unconventional explosive weapon to destroy the victim's face and cover up the murder under a staged phone explosion narrative.
Police arrested Siddaraju after forensic analysis of Room 116 revealed physical remnants of an explosive device, including 2 meters of electric wire, gelatin residue, and a steel rod. Interrogation led to his full confession regarding the 'mouth bomb' murder mechanism. Forensic testing of recovered chemical residue and lab analysis are ongoing.
Initial reporting by the suspect attempted to blame a mobile phone battery explosion during charging. However, the absence of injuries on the rest of her body, alongside recovered wires and explosive materials, raised immediate suspicion among forensic experts.
Siddaraju enticed Darshita to travel with him under the guise of visiting a temple. After checking into Room 116 of SJRS Lodge, he made a final attempt to convince her to leave her husband. Upon her refusal, he bound her limbs, inserted a small custom explosive into her mouth, and triggered it electronically from near the bathroom. He then attempted to manufacture an alibi by buying food and bringing hotel staff to open the locked door.
The suspect demonstrated high lethal risk through detailed advance planning, fabrication of an explosive device, deception, and calculated attempts to manipulate witnesses and forensic evidence to evade detection.
Severe relationship obsession combined with technical improvisation can produce unprecedented mechanisms of violence; physical evidence at crime scenes often rapidly invalidates early staged alibi claims.
Persistent pressure on an ex-partner to abandon her marriage and child, combined with hidden contact and clandestine travel arrangements.
Electric wiring, gelatin residue, a thin steel rod, intact limbs despite catastrophic facial destruction, and the auto-locking door mechanism.
Recovered gelatin stick remnants, electric wire, mobile phone components, and forensic physical evidence from Room 116.
Lodge reception staff reported that Siddaraju checked in with Darshita claiming to be husband and wife, left to fetch food, and later requested a master key claiming the room door would not open.
Initial speculation regarding an exploding phone battery was debunked once forensic officers discovered explosive components and obtained Siddaraju's confession.
Detailed chemical composition of the explosive mixture and exact source where the suspect acquired the explosive materials or technical instructions remain under laboratory review.