The husband of a 32 year-old woman, whose body was found stuffed in a suitcase in Bengaluru, has emerged as the main suspect in the case and was now undergoing treatment in Pune in Maharashtra after alleged suicide attempt, the police said on Friday.
The body of Gauri Khedekar, a native of Maharashtra, was found on Thursday with severe injury marks and packed inside a suitcase.
Her husband Rakesh Rajendera Khedekar, who works as a project manager in an IT firm in the Karnataka capital, fled to Pune, around 875 km from Bengaluru, after the crime and allegedly attempted suicide by consuming poison, the Bengaluru police said.
However, a police official in western Maharashtra's Satara district, where Rakesh Khedekar was found, said the man told them he had killed his wife.
He was found lying unconscious on a road under jurisdiction of the Shirwal police station in Satara district. Rakesh Khedekar was rushed to a hospital in Shirwal before being shifted to a private medical facility in Pune, Satara police officials said.
“We found the man lying on a road in an unconscious state on Thursday night. When he regained consciousness, he told us he had killed his wife. By the time we informed our seniors, the news about the murder in Bengaluru had surfaced,” said Yashwant Nalawade, senior inspector, Shirwal police station.
He has been detained in connection with the murder and is currently undergoing treatment, according to the Bengaluru police.
Addressing a press conference, Bengaluru city police commissioner B Dayananda said the police have registered a case in this regard and it seems the woman's husband is the main suspect.
Rakesh Khedekar had flown out of the Karnataka capital earlier, he said.
"He was found admitted to a hospital in Pune. Apparently, it is said he had consumed poison in a suicide attempt. He is in the hospital and our team has already contacted Pune police," the IPS officer said.
According to the commissioner, a Bengaluru police team has gone to Pune, and as and when he is discharged from the hospital, he will be brought to the southern city for interrogation.
Marital dispute is said to be the reason behind the gruesome murder.
"Relatives of the deceased have come to Bengaluru and further details will be sought from them," Dayananda added.
According to the Bengaluru police, the murder came to light when the owner of the house, where the couple lived, alerted the police control room at around 5:30 pm on Thursday.
The woman and her husband, who works as a project manager in an IT firm in the southern city, moved to Bengaluru last month and were living in a flat at Doddakammanahalli village in Hulimayu police station limits.
The victim's body was found dumped in the suitcase inside the bathroom of the flat.
The exact motive behind the murder will be ascertained after the accused is brought to the Karnataka capital and interrogated, a senior police official said.
Responding to reports that the man had informed his wife's parents about killing her, the officer said, "the matter is under investigation and these details needs to be verified."
The woman had a Bachelors degree in Mass Media and her husband was working from home, the police said.
Forensic experts visited the crime spot and collected samples as part of investigation, the police said.
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