A day after a woman’s body was found cut into over 20 pieces and stored inside a refrigerator in her rented apartment, the victim’s mother said they were informed about a foul smell emanating from the victim’s apartment a day before the murder was discovered.
In her complaint, Meena Rana, mother of the victim Mahalakshmi, stated that her daughter was married to Hemant Das, who lives in Nelamangala and runs a mobile phone accessories store.
The couple started living separately in October 2023, which was when Mahalakshmi rented the apartment in Vyalikaval, the house where she was found dead, Indian Express reported.
Meena Rana claimed that she frequently visited her daughter to check on her.
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“On Friday, my eldest daughter Lakshmi informed me what the neighbour told Ukkum Singh (Mahalakshmi’s brother) about the smell, but as it was already 7 pm, we decided to visit Mahalakshmi’s place the next day. On Saturday, I visited the house with Lakshmi, and her husband Imran and found that the door was locked from outside,” she said, IE reported.
Her mother stated that after they managed to get inside the apartment, they found the house was ransacked. In her complaint, the mother said that they saw some maggots near the refrigerator and it looked as if there were blood stains as well. “Upon opening the refrigerator, I ran outside in shock to inform my son-in-law Imran. He called the police immediately,” Meena Rana stated, IE reported.
According to the mother, Mahalakshmi had told her over the phone on September 2 that she would visit her husband soon. That was the last communication between the mother and the daughter.
According to the police, the body of the woman, Mahalakshmi, was cut into at least 20 pieces and was stuffed in a refrigerator. The body was found on Saturday.
Mahalakshmi, the deceased, used to live in a one-bedroom apartment in Bengaluru’s Vyalikaval area. After learning about the incident, her husband too came to the spot, PTI reported.
The police suspect the murder took place about two-three days ago.
Karnataka’s Home Minister G Parmeshwar has said that authorities have identified a suspect believed to be in West Bengal in connection with the murder of a Bengaluru woman.
“There is information about a person from West Bengal being a suspect. Efforts are on to arrest him,” said Parmeshwar.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women has directed the Karnataka police to expedite the arrest of all involved in the gruesome murder of the woman.
No arrests have been made in the case so far.
The incident is a stark reminder of the brutal murder of Shraddha Walker by her live-in partner Aftab Poonawalla on May 18, 2022, at Mehrauli in Delhi, where he cut her body into multiple pieces, stored it in a fridge for nearly three weeks before dumping the body parts across the city.
(With inputs from agencies)