A 30-year-old woman was arrested on Saturday for allegedly strangling her live-in partner to death at her residence in Bengaluru’s Ganapathipura.
The body of 26-year-old Muthuraj was found lying on Ganapathipura 6th Main Road on October 30. Police initially registered a case of unnatural death, based on his mother’s complaint.
According to the police, Sunanda Bai, who works as a caretaker in a private school had been in a live-in relationship with Muthuraj, a bus conductor, for close to a year.
When the police had first interrogated Sunanda Bai, she had misled them by suggesting that Muthuraj had died after falling down while being drunk. She told the police that he was often found unconscious on the road after drinking too much alcohol.
However, the post-mortem report revealed that Muthuraj had been strangled to death. Suspicions aroused, the police obtained Sunanda’s call records and combed through CCTV footage from the area where Muthuraj’s body was found.
It was found that Sunanda was the last person to call Muthuraj on the day of his death, and that Sunanda had been caught on a CCTV camera dragging his body in a bedsheet. Sunanda was once again brought in for questioning and reportedly confessed to the crime.
“When the post-mortem was conducted, it was revealed that Muthuraj had died due to strangulation. A fresh case of murder was taken up and an investigation was launched. Based on the mobile call details record, CCTV footage and other evidence, Sunanda was picked up for questioning. When thoroughly grilled, she confessed to the murder,” Deccan Chronicle quoted the police as saying.
Police said that Sunanda had killed Muthuraj by strangling him with a nylon rope and then dragged his body in a bed sheet and placed it near a drain to make it look like an accident.
Sunanda reportedly told the police that Muthuraj often harassed her verbally and physically, as he suspected her of having an affair.
“Unable to bear the harassment, she decided to kill him and used a nylon rope as a weapon. After waiting for a few hours, Sunanda wrapped the body in a bed sheet and dragged it for 500 yards before dumping it near a drain on the road,” a police officer told The Hindu.