Body of woman found dismembered in fridge in India, main suspect identified

A woman’s body was found dismembered in the fridge of her rental home, and Indian police have identified the main suspect in her murder.

But the person’s identity has not been released, according to reports by Indian media outlets.

Bengalore Police Commissioner B. Dayananda said: “It is being investigated from all angles. The prime suspect has been identified and efforts are under way to arrest him.

“He’s an outsider. We can’t give more information as of now, as it may help the accused.”

Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara confirmed that the police have collected “a lot of clues”, and suspect a man reportedly from West Bengal to be behind the crime. However, the minister emphasised that more evidence is required before making any conclusions.

“We need to see if there was one person or two persons involved in the incident,” he added.

Bengalore is the capital of Karnataka state in south-west India.

The body parts of the woman, identified only as Mahalakshmi, were discovered on Sept 21 at her rented residence in Vyalikaval in Bengalore. Her landlord had complained a day earlier about a foul smell emanating from her house, prompting her mother, Mrs Meena Rana, to visit the next afternoon, The Times of India reported on Sept 23.

Upon entering the house, Mrs Rana found her daughter’s body cut into over 20 pieces and stuffed into a single-door refrigerator. Deccan Herald reported on Sept 22 that police reports indicated that maggots were seen in the refrigerator.

According to a Bengalore police officer, the 29-year-old victim had reported her estranged husband, Mr Hemant Das, to the police for assault in February.

Mr Das, in turn, also filed a complaint against her, alleging that she was having an affair with a barber from Uttarakhand, The Indian Express reported.

The couple had been married for six years, The Hindustan Times reported. When they separated about nine months ago, their daughter lived with the victim for the four months before moving to live with Mr Das, he told the police on Sept 20.

According to Mr Shekar H. Tekkannavar, deputy commissioner of police for central Bengalore, Ms Mahalakshmi’s body parts were severely decomposed, leading investigators to believe the murder occurred about two weeks prior.

Her brother told the police that he had visited her in July and stayed with her in another house. He also said she became incommunicado on Sept 4.

Deccan Herald reported that according to a police report, Ms Mahalakshmi called her father on the morning of Sept 2, promising to visit her family. The report also stated that she was not contactable after that.

The National Commission for Women has directed the Karnataka police to expedite the arrest of those involved. “A detailed report is expected within three days,” the commission said in a post on X.