A 34-year-old software engineer’s death, initially believed to have been caused by a house fire, has been confirmed as murder. Police have arrested an 18-year-old man for allegedly smothering the woman and then torching her flat in east Bengaluru to destroy evidence.
The deceased, Sharmila Kushalappa, a native of Mangaluru and an employee of Accenture, lived in a rented apartment in Subramanya Layout, Ramamurthynagar. On the night of January 3, she was found unconscious in her locked two-bedroom flat after a fire broke out. She was declared dead on arrival at the hospital, with initial suspicion pointing to death due to smoke inhalation.
Police said the case took a turn after forensic and postmortem reports contradicted the initial belief that Sharmila had succumbed to the fire. Injuries on her hands and signs of a struggle raised red flags. The autopsy later confirmed that the injuries were inflicted before the fire and were inconsistent with accidental burns, indicating that she had been smothered.
Police said they received a complaint from Sharmila’s friend, K Rohit, following the incident. Around 10.30 pm on January 3, the building owner noticed smoke coming from her flat and alerted the fire department. Firefighters broke open the locked door, extinguished the blaze, and found Sharmila motionless near the kitchen.
The accused, Karnal Kurai K, a PU student from Virajpet in Kodagu district, lived with his mother in the neighbouring flat in the same building.
Based on forensic findings and statements from Sharmila’s friend, police zeroed in on Karnal and detained him for questioning. Police said he confessed to entering Sharmila’s flat through a sliding window around 9 pm. When confronted, he allegedly expressed his interest in her, which she rejected and asked him to leave. He then allegedly killed her.
Police said bloodstains were found on the victim’s clothes. To eliminate evidence, Karnal allegedly removed the garments and set them on fire before fleeing through the same window. The fire then spread through the flat.
Karnal has been arrested on charges of murder and destruction of evidence and has been remanded to three days of police custody.