The prime suspect in the gruesome murder of Mahalakshmi, a 29-year-old woman whose maggot-infested body, chopped into 50 pieces and stored in a refrigerator, was found in a Bengaluru apartment, has died by suicide. This was confirmed by DCP Central-Bengaluru, Shekar H Tekkannavar. The prime accused, Mukthirajan Pratap Roy, was on the run in Odisha in connection with the Mahalakshmi murder case.
Earlier in the day, the Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara had stated that the police had information about the suspect’s presence in Odisha. Teams were subsequently dispatched to Odisha to apprehend him. Several investigation teams were also formed to trace the suspects, with some fanned out to various parts of India to arrest those involved in the crime.
The discovery of the woman’s body was made by her mother and elder sister after neighbors complained of a foul smell emanating from her apartment. This case has drawn disturbing similarities to the Shraddha Walker case in Delhi, where the victim was also brutally murdered and dismembered.
According to the police, the incident occurred near Veerana Bhavan in Malleswaram, Bengaluru. Mahalakshmi’s mother, Meena Rana, spoke to reporters, recounting the harrowing discovery: “The owner of the building informed me that there was a foul smell coming from the house. When I came and opened the door, I saw the body of Mahalakshmi cut into pieces. I saw her for the last time at the Rakshabandhan festival. Since then, her phone has been switched off.”
Mahalakshmi’s elder sister, demanding severe punishment for the accused, expressed her grief and outrage: “Who cuts a woman into pieces like this? I saw her a year ago. Now I saw her in pieces.”
While Mahalakshmi resided in Malleswaram and worked in a mall, her husband worked in a hermitage away from the city. The woman’s estranged husband had expressed suspicion about the involvement of a man known to Mahalakshmi, who had been living alone in her neighborhood.
