The prime suspect in the gruesome murder of 29-year-old Mahalakshmi, whose dismembered body was discovered in a refrigerator at her Bengaluru home, has died by suicide in Odisha, police confirmed on Wednesday. Mukthirajan Pratap Roy, who had been on the run following the brutal crime, ended his life while being pursued by law enforcement authorities.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Central Bengaluru, Shekar H. Tekkannavar, announced the suspect’s death, stating that Roy had taken his own life while evading arrest. Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara had earlier in the day mentioned that police teams were dispatched to Odisha after receiving information about the suspect’s presence there.
The murder case has shocked Bengaluru, drawing chilling parallels to the infamous Shraddha Walkar case from Delhi in 2022, where Walkar was dismembered and her body stored in a refrigerator by her live-in partner. Mahalakshmi’s dismembered body, found in a fridge, was discovered on Saturday by her mother and sister at her home in Vyalikaval, Bengaluru. The body had been concealed in the refrigerator and was in an advanced stage of decomposition.
Speaking to reporters, Parameshwara expressed the government’s seriousness about the case, noting that it had deeply disturbed the entire city. “We have taken the case very seriously, as the murder had shaken Bengaluru,” he stated.
Police identified Roy as the main suspect based on available evidence, with multiple individuals taken into custody for questioning. The victim’s estranged husband had also pointed suspicion towards a man known to Mahalakshmi, who was believed to have been in close contact with her and lived nearby.
The Mahalakshmi murder case is a stark reminder of the Shraddha Walkar case, which gripped the nation with its horrific details of a live-in partner committing a brutal murder. In both cases, the dismembered bodies of the victims were found in refrigerators, leading to comparisons between the two tragedies.
In light of the incident, Parameshwara reassured the public that measures were in place to protect women in Bengaluru, including the Nirbhaya programme and increased surveillance through CCTV cameras. However, he emphasized the need for additional efforts to improve safety.
“We are very careful and take many precautions, but we need to put in more effort to ensure women’s safety,” he said, promising that further steps would be taken to prevent such heinous crimes in the future.
Sources By Agencies
