On run in Odisha, Mahalakshmi murder accused dies by suicide: Top cop

The prime suspect in the gruesome murder of Mahalakshmi, a 29-year-old woman whose maggot-infested body, chopped into 50 pieces and stored in a refrigerator, was found in Bengaluru apartment, has died by suicide, DCP Central-Bengaluru, Shekar H Tekkannavar has informed. The prime accused, Mukthirajan Pratap Roy, was on the run in Odisha in connection with the Mahalakshmi murder case.
Earlier in the day, the Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said the police had information about the presence of the suspect in Odisha, and teams formed to crack the case have been sent there to nab him. Several investigation teams were also formed to trace the suspects and some teams were fanned out to various parts of India to arrest those involved in the crime.
The body of the woman was found by her mother and elder sister when her neighbours complained of a foul smell coming off her apartment – a case that drew similarities from the Shraddha Walker case in Delhi. According to the police, the incident happened near Veerana Bhavan in Malleswaram, Bengaluru.
Mahalakshmi’s mother Meena Rana spoke to the reporters and said, “The owner of the building informed me that there was a foul smell coming from the house. When I came and opened the door I saw the body of Mahalakshmi cut into pieces. I saw her for the last time at the Rakshabandhan festival. Since then her phone has been switched off.”
Demanding severe punishment for the accused, Mahalakshmi’s elder sister said, “Who cuts a woman into pieces like this? I saw her a year ago. Now I saw her in pieces.”
While Mahalakshmi lived in Malleswaram and was working in a mall, her husband worked in a hermitage away from the city. The woman’s estranged husband had expressed suspicion about the involvement of a man known to Mahalakshmi, who had been living alone, in her neighbourhood.
(With agency inputs)