'Quiet neighbour... kept to herself': Community shocked by allegations against Suchana Seth

Bengaluru: As the nation grapples with the shocking alleged murder of a four-year-old by his 39-year-old mother, who is the CEO of a Bengaluru-based AI startup, police are delving into her background in the city.

Suchana Seth has been detained by the Karnataka police at the Aimangala police station in Hiriyur taluk on instructions from their counterparts in Goa. She has been remanded to six days of police custody in Goa.

While Goa police interrogate Suchana and investigate the case, a senior Bengaluru Central division police officer disclosed to DH that they visited a co-working space on Residency Road where she had registered another company in addition to Mindful AI Lab, where she serves as the CEO.

However, it was learnt that she utilised the space for a single day in 2020 and never returned. The police also discovered that she used a Malleswaram address to register the space, and the provided contact number is now inactive.

There is a possibility that the office for Mindful AI Lab may be located in Silk Board, the officer stated.

Her residence

She had rented a two-bedroom unit at the Unishire Terraza apartments on Rachenahalli Main Road, 500 meters from Thanisandra Main Road, a four-towered luxury complex with 14-storey buildings and 182 homes.

Suchana had moved out of the apartment in Unit 310 in ‘C’ Block of the residential complex four months ago with her son. The apartment complex, less than six years old, has three homes on each floor. Many vacant flats, predominantly two-bedroom units, are available for sale, while others are up for rent starting at Rs 35,000.

A neighbour, who observed Suchana but did not interact, mentioned that she went to work and returned only in the night. She kept to herself and avoided gatherings. “The news is very shocking.”

Unravelling thread

Suchana checked into Goa’s Sol Banyan Grande on January 6 and allegedly murdered her son. She checked out at 12.30 am on Sunday, requesting a taxi to Bengaluru and agreeing to pay Rs 30,000 as fare.

The manager of Sol Banyan Grande stated in the complaint that the housekeeping staff found bloodstains when cleaning the apartment after her departure, leading them to immediately inform the police.

Calangute police contacted the taxi driver and questioned Suchana about her son’s whereabouts. She claimed her son was with her friend in Margao, providing an address that turned out to be fake.

The police instructed the taxi driver to take Suchana to the Aimangala police station, where her son’s body was discovered bundled in a luggage bag.

She had rented a two-bedroom unit at the Unishire Terraza apartments on Rachenahalli Main Road, about 500 metres from Thanisandra Main Road in the northeastern part of the city, a four-towered luxury apartment complex with 14-storey buildings and a total of 182 homes.  

Cremation

Four-year-old Chinmay Seth Raman’s father, Venkatraman, flew back from Indonesia following the incident. After the autopsy, the body was sent to a Rajajinagar apartment where Venkatraman’s father resides.

Suchana and Venkatraman have been estranged since 2020.

Chinmay was cremated at Harishchandra Ghat on Wednesday, with his father performing the rites.

The alleged plot

* Jan 6-10
Suchana Seth booked a service apartment at Sol Banyan Grande in Goa through an Airbnb application for her and her child.  

* Jan 6 
She checked into the hotel along with her son at night.

* Jan 7 (4 pm)
She called the reception and requested for two bottles of cough syrup, claiming she had a cold.

* Jan 7 (9.10 pm)
She called the reception and asked for a taxi to Bengaluru, saying she had urgent work and had to leave. The staff suggested she take a flight, but she insisted on a taxi.

* What happened on Jan 8

She checked out of the hotel alone with her luggage at 12.30 am. Housekeeping staff found bloodstains on the ground and told the hotel manager, who informed the police control room.

Police arrived at the hotel, inspected it and called the taxi driver who was taking Suchana to Bengaluru. She gave the police an address of a friend in Margao, claiming her son was there. Police called their counterparts in Fatorda and requested a quick check. Fatorda police found the address to be fake. 

Calangute police informed the taxi driver to stop at the nearest police station, which was the Aimangala police station in Karnataka's Chitradurga. The Aimangala police checked her luggage and found the remains of the child. They detained Suchana. 

Calangute police arrived at Aimangala and detained her.