A 45-year-old senior government geologist, who lived alone, and had recently taken action against illegal mining and the sand mafia, was found dead at her residence in south Bengaluru on Sunday morning.
Police investigating the murder have arrested her former driver in connection with the case.
The man, identified as Kiran who had worked as Prathima’s car driver, was earlier missing. “Kiran was recently taken out from the job by the department and was replaced by another driver. After the incident, Kiran’s mobile phone has been switched off,” said an officer.
According to the police, it appeared that the killers had strangled and slit the throat of Prathima KS at her 13th-floor apartment in VV Towers in Gokul Nagar of Doddakallasandra, near the Vidhana Soudha.
“Prathima was first strangulated and then her throat was slit. We are awaiting the post-mortem report. There was no forced entry to the house and no valuables have been missing. Someone known to her has entered the house and killed her,” the police said.
The incident came to light when Pratima’s elder brother, Pratish, a civic contractor, visited her house around 8 am on Sunday. He took this step after not receiving responses to his phone calls made since Saturday night.
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Police have ruled out robbery as a motive and are actively investigating various angles. This includes Prathima’s actions against illegal mining and a potential family dispute. Authorities are also exploring the possibility of involvement by someone close to her, as there is no evidence of forced entry into her apartment. It is worth noting that Prathima resided in Bengaluru, while her husband, a school teacher-turned-farmer, lived in Shivamogga. Their son is a Class 10 student.
According to the police, the murder is suspected to have taken place between 8 pm and 8.30 pm on Saturday, shortly after Prathima was dropped off at her residence by her department’s driver, who used an official vehicle for transportation. The driver left the vehicle near her house and returned home on his bike.
“We suspect she might have been murdered at night. Three teams have been formed for the investigations,” Rahul Kumar Shahapurwad DCP (South), said.