Over a week ago, Sharmila D Kushalappa, a Bengaluru techie who worked with Accenture, was found unconscious inside a two-bedroom apartment, where she lived alone. Although she was originally believed to have died in a tragic house fire, a major breakthrough turned the case upside down.
On Sunday, police said that they had arrested an 18-year-old private college student for allegedly killing the 34-year-old software engineer. Forcing the case open, authorities said that the suspect, who has since been identified as Karnal Kurai K, suffocated Sharmila after she reportedly rejected his advances.
The suspect is also said to have set the engineer’s rented flat ablaze as part of his plot to cover up any evidence incriminating him in the crime. Officials ultimately found bloodstains from the woman’s mouth and nose on the accused boy’s clothes.
Who is Bengaluru techie murder suspect?
As also reported by the Indian Express and TOI, authorities disclosed that the murder suspect lived in the same neighbourhood as the Bengaluru techie in Subramanya Layout, Ramamurthynagar.
He is believed to be a second-year pre-university student at a private college. Hailing from Arasunagar in Virajpet town of Kodagu district, Karnal Kurai lived in the same building as Sharmila with his mother.
Police has since placed him in custody.
How did police discover Bengaluru techie’s death was a murder case?
The major twist in the case surfaced to the top after forensic and postmortem findings differed from the original belief that Sharmila had died after inhaling smoke in the apartment fire, according to the Times of India.
Moreover, the Bengaluru software engineer’s friend, K Rohit, ended up issuing a complaint to Ramamurthynagar police, suspecting foul play in Sharmila’s death.
Recent revelations turned the case over as investigators said that emerging visible signs of struggle, as seen on Sharmila’s body, didn’t align with the previous assumptions about her cause of death. Through autopsy, doctors found out that the techie suffered those injuries before the fire broke out, especially since they remained inconsistent with accidental burns.
According to the Times of India report, medical experts have suggested that the Bengaluru woman was suffocated just before she lost consciousness.
Karnal Kurai has reportedly even confessed to the crime after being taken into custody. Authorities have since divulged that the harrowing series of events began with the suspect entering the woman’s flat through a sliding window at 9 pm.
She eventually confronted him for trespassing, which is when the teen acted on his questionable advances. However, Sharmila reportedly shouted at the boy in return, resisting his actions. At this point, the college student allegedly suffocated her by forcefully shutting her mouth and nose.
In addition to setting the flat on fire, he allegedly even torched his own clothes to avoid being dragged into the investigation. Later on, he escaped through the window.
He has been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 103 (1) (murder), 64 (2) (rape), 66 (causing death in vegetative state), and 238 (destroying evidence), as per Indian Express.