Differences over marriage led to Bengaluru woman’s gruesome murder, say police

The gruesome killing of a 29-year-old woman, whose dismembered body was found in the fridge of her house here, was allegedly due to differences over the issue of marriage between her and the accused, Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda said on Friday.

The accused Mukti Ranjan Ray allegedly ended his life by suicide in his home state of Odisha on September 25.

The maggot-infested body of Mahalakshmi, chopped into 59 pieces and stuffed into the fridge, was found by her mother and elder sister at her Vyalikaval home here on September 21.

“Regarding the murder case of a woman registered in Vyalikaval police station on September 21, based on a complaint of her mother…we have gone to other states in search of the prime suspect, it came across that he has committed suicide in Dhusuri police station limits in Bhadrak district of Odisha. Our officials and personnel have gone there and we are gathering information,” Dayananda said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said the accused has also written a death note in which he has mentioned about the murder and has confessed about his role in it.

“We will get all that information from there and further investigate….more information cannot be shared as it is still part of the investigation, but prima facie what we have got to know is they had personal differences, especially differences in connection with marriage, which led to the crime,” he said.

Dayananda said the accused’s younger brother resides here. He has been subjected to investigation and his statement has been recorded before the court.

According to police sources, Mahalakshmi, who had separated from her estranged husband, had been living separately in Vyalikaval since October 2023.

They said she and Ray were colleagues at a clothing outlet and had known to each other for some time.