A soured relationship was the most likely motive behind the brutal murder of 29-year-old Nepalese-origin woman Mahalakshmi in Bengaluru earlier this month, according to police sources.
Malakshmi’s mutilated body parts were found stuffed inside a single-door fridge in her Vyalikaval home on September 21.
On September 25, Dhusuri police in Odisha’s Bhadrak district found the body of Mukti Ranjan Ray, 30, the prime suspect in the murder.
At the scene, local police recovered a bag filled with clothes, a Yamaha Fascino scooter registered locally in the name of Ray’s father’s and a purported suicide note.
Shantanu Kumar Jena, Station House Officer (SHO), Dhusuri police station, confirmed to Deccan Herald that the note contained a confession but refused to reveal further details.
Varun Guntupalli, Superintendent of Police (Bhadrak), too, told media people in Odisha on Thursday that Ray had confessed to the murder in the note.
A top police source in Bengaluru, quoting the note, claimed that Ray felt remorse for his actions. While Ray was single, Mahalakshmi had been estranged from her husband Hemant Das and living alone since October 2023.
"Ray’s brother also confirmed that he was short-tempered. Our investigations point to the fact that there were issues in his relationship with Mahalakshmi, constant quarrels and fighting, including pressure and alleged mental harassment from her for marriage," a top police source said.
Published 26 September 2024, 18:36 IST