- Wednesday, March 12, 2025
The body was discovered by Mahalakshmi’s mother and elder sister at her rented home, after the house owner complained of a foul smell
By: Shajil Kumar
THE BENGALURU police has sent search teams to West Bengal and Odisha to nab the prime suspect in the gruesome murder of a 29-year-old woman in the city.
The mutilated body of the victim, Mahalakshmi, was found last Saturday at her rented house in Vyalikaval, a city suburb.
She was staying alone and had separated from her husband Hemant Das.
The body was chopped into many pieces and stored in a refrigerator.
The body was discovered by Mahalakshmi’s mother and elder sister at her home on Saturday.
The city police chief claimed on Monday that they have identified the killer but are yet to arrest him.
Karnataka home minister G Paramaeshwara also assured that the culprit will be nabbed soon.
According to police sources, several investigation teams have been formed to trace the culprits.
Some teams have fanned out to various parts of India to arrest those involved in the crime.
The police are looking for a man named Mukti Ranjan Ray, who is from Odisha, in connection with the murder, Indian Express reports.
Mahalakshmi and Ray have been friends since 2023 and worked in the same mall.
She worked as a team leader with a costume outlet in Malleshwaram.
The police have questioned several people associated with Mahalakshmi, including Hemant Das, mother Meena Rana, and her colleagues.
They found that Ray was missing from his Bengaluru residence.
Narrating the harrowing incident, Mahalakshmi’s mother told reporters, “The owner of the building informed me that there was a foul smell coming from the house. When I came and opened the door I saw the body of Mahalakshmi cut into pieces.”
“I saw her for the last time at the Rakshabandhan festival. Since then her phone has been switched off,” she added.
The victim’s elder sister wanted stringent punishment for the accused.
The incident is a stark reminder of the brutal murder of Shraddha Walker (27) by her live-in partner Aftab in Delhi in 2022.
Her body was cut into 35 pieces and stored in a refrigerator in the accused’s residence for almost three weeks before being dumped across the city. (Agencies)
