Bengaluru fridge horror: Over 50 pieces of woman’s body found in fridge; suspect identified

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, September 23, 2024: As more details regarding the suspected murder of a 29-year-old woman in Bengaluru come to the fore, the police on Monday said they have identified the prime suspect in the case, but were yet to arrest him. The police also revealed they found more than 50 pieces of the woman’s body inside the refrigerator of her one-bedroom apartment in Malleshwaram.

Addressing a press conference, the Bengaluru City Police Commissioner B Dayananda said, “The case is being investigated from all angles. The prime suspect has been identified and efforts are underway to arrest him. He hails from another state, but is staying in Bengaluru. We can’t give more information as of now as it may help the accused.”

Earlier today, the police also said they found a blue suitcase near the fridge in which the woman’s body was found in pieces.

With the recovery of the suitcase, the police were probing if the assailant wanted to move the body out of the place, or if the same was transported from elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the post-mortem of the woman was conducted and its report was awaited.

Bengaluru shocker

The incident was reported on September 21, after locals in the vicinity of a house in Bengaluru’s Malleshwaram complained of a foul smell emanating from the place.

The dismembered body of the woman, later identified as Mahalakshmi, was recovered from a refrigerator in the house, as the police reached and inspected it.

A dog squad and forensic experts also visited the house and revealed the woman was allegedly murdered nearly five days before her body was found.

As the investigations continue, the Bengaluru Police said it has formed six teams to crack the case. A few teams were also sent to other states for leads.

A First Information Report (FIR) in the case has been registered, news agency ANI reported.

According to the fresh details, Mahalakshmi’s family hails from Nepal but had shifted to Karnataka’s Nelamangala 35 years back.

The woman was born and raised in Bengaluru, it was revealed.

She was living separately from her husband, alone in the single-bedroom house. Her husband, Hemanth, also reached the spot as he came to know about the incident.

While Mahalakshmi lived in Malleshwaram and worked at a mall, her husband worked at a hermitage away from the city.

Two years back, on May 18, 2022, a similar case shook the nation, after which the accused, 28-year-old Aftab Poonawalla was arrested.

Poonawalla had killed his live-in partner Shraddha Walker at a house in Delhi’s Mehrauli area and had sawed her body into 35 pieces which he kept in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks at his residence.

He had later dumped the body parts at different locations in the city.