R Prabuddha
Credit: Special Arrangement
Bengaluru: Sowmya K R, the mother of slain college girl R Prabuddha, has alleged that her daughter’s 14-year-old killer had an accomplice.
Prabuddha, a second-year BBA student at a college in Basavanagudi, was found with her throat and wrist slit at her home in Brindavan Layout, Padmanabhanagar, on May 15.
Police initially suspected she had killed herself, but a crucial clue helped them nab the teenage suspect.
The boy — a friend of Prabuddha’s younger brother — allegedly stole Rs 2,000 from her purse on May 13. He desperately needed the money to pay a friend whose spectacles he had accidentally broken.
Prabuddha discovered the theft and called him to her house two days later. As the boy came through the back door, she confronted him and demanded her money back. Despite his apologies, she refused to listen to him and threatened to inform his parents.
“He fell at her feet and pleaded for mercy, causing her to trip and fall. She suffered grievous head injuries and passed out. After she fell, he got scared and pulled her to the bathroom,” a police officer overseeing the investigation told DH. “He then grabbed a kitchen knife and slashed her wrist and throat.”
Police say the boy noticed that Prabuddha already had a gash on her wrist. He saw an opportunity to make it look like a suicide.
“He looked for the kitchen knife and slit her wrist on the same spot. He then made a slight cut on her throat, but it wasn’t deep enough,” the officer added.
Police found three “death” notes in Prabuddha’s bag, raising suspicion it was a suicide. However, the writing in one of the notes, where ‘I am sorry’ was scribbled, didn’t match Prabuddha’s handwriting. The other two notes were written by Prabuddha, but were unrelated to the incident.
“We learned the note was written by one of her friends. We questioned the friend and found no foul play,” said the officer.
Sowmya, Prabuddha’s mother, discovered the death after returning home. Prabuddha’s brother, who was out playing cricket, came home and knocked on the door multiple times, but she didn’t respond.
After Sowmya arrived, her son jumped the compound and peeped into the window to see Prabuddha in the bathroom. The mother and son later entered the house through the back door.
Sowmya claimed that the blood in the living room had been cleaned. According to her, the 14-year-old played with her son until 3 pm that day. They planned to play elsewhere, but the boy refused, saying he had to go somewhere else.
“No one knew this would happen,” she told DH.
She believes the boy had an accomplice because Prabuddha’s phone is still missing.
“I believe in the police; they have supported me well. They will investigate thoroughly and get me justice. But there is another person behind this, for sure,” she said.
The boy has been sent to the Juvenile Justice House.