Bengaluru Mahalakshmi Murder Suspect Dies in Odisha, Police Probe Suicide

Bhubaneswar: Mukti Ranjan Roy, the prime suspect in the Mahalakshmi murder case, has reportedly committed suicide in Odisha on Wednesday. The accused had been on the run following the murder. Bangalore police, who had been pursuing Roy as part of their ongoing investigation, travelled to Odisha to interrogate him. However, before they could detain him for questioning, Roy reportedly took the extreme step. 

Authorities had been working to trace Roy's whereabouts since the murder, and his suicide adds another twist to the case. Further details regarding the circumstances of his death are expected to emerge as investigations continue.

Earlier in the day, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara had said the police have information about the presence of the suspect -- involved in the brutal killing of a 29-year-old woman whose dismembered body was found in the fridge of her house here -- in Odisha , and teams formed to crack the case have been sent there to nab him.

"We have taken the case very seriously, as the murder had shaken the entire Bengaluru," he told reporters here. "Already the police have identified that the person is in Odisha and have gathered information that he is behind the crime. Police have sent three to four teams there. He is said to be on the run changing places." 

The maggot-infested body of Mahalakshmi, chopped into several pieces and stuffed into the fridge, was found by her mother and elder sister at her Vyalikaval home on Saturday.

Parameshwara added,"After securing him, we will get more information....two-three persons were taken into custody, but based on the evidence and information available, there is a suspicion about the involvement of the person (in Odisha ). So efforts are on to secure him." The deceased woman's estranged husband on Sunday expressed suspicion about the involvement of a man known to Mahalakshmi, who had been living alone, in her neighbourhood.