After a senior woman geologist working with the Karnataka government was murdered at her residence in Bengaluru on Saturday, November 4 night, the police probe looked into both professional and personal angles. KS Prathima (45), the deceased Deputy Director of Karnataka’s Department of Mines and Geology, was found dead at her home in southern Bengaluru’s Doddakallasandra. On November 6 morning, one of the investigators said that they would announce an arrest in the case soon and the police believe the murder was for personal reasons.
The police said that there were no signs of a robbery and therefore it was unlikely that this was a murder for gain. Prathima lived on the first floor of a two-storied independent house and another family lived on the ground floor. Her husband, a farmer, who works in the Shivamogga district, was away at the time of the murder. Her son studies in a school in Mangaluru. Her body was discovered by her brother who rushed to her place as she did not answer his calls.
Pratima’s body was found with her throat slit. The forensics team, along with the police, combed the area for evidence. Neighbours told TNM that they did not hear any sound. The murder is suspected to have happened between 8- 8.30 pm.
The police investigation
The police were also looking into high-profile cases that Prathima investigated. In one such case of illegal quarrying, Prathima had conducted a physical examination of a quarrying site, after which she submitted a report to the government quoting a loss of Rs 25.35 lakh. Following this, an FIR was filed against a BJP MLA and three others.
TNM confirmed with an investigator in the case that Prathima was part of a joint inspection team comprising of the police and the local tahsildar, which looked into illegal blasts and illegal quarrying in 10 sites across Yelahanka. He added that the police had not contacted him regarding Prathima's murder yet.
The police also questioned Prathima's family to find if there were any discords within the family.
This is a developing story. We are constantly updating the story.