BENGALURU: A 32-year-old merchandiser was brutally stabbed to death by his gay partner at a residential flat on 4th cross of Cashier Layout in BTM Layout. The victim, who was a cross-dresser, was living in a rented flat since three months in the guise of a woman.
Victim stabbed in left arm, abdomen
The incident took place when the accused, an auto driver, came to the flat under the influence of alcohol. The victim, Pradeep, slapped him which led to a fight between them. Police said Pradeep was the first to stab the accused who has been identified as Rakshith Gowda, 26, a resident of Vijaynagar. Rakshith then took a knife and repeatedly stabbed Pradeep in the abdomen and left arm, before locking the doors of the flat from outside and fleeing.
The murder came to light after neighbours complained of foul smell emanating from the flat following which the building’s caretaker Suresh informed the police. Police broke down the door and found the victim’s decomposed body on June 2. The murder is said to have happened between May 30 to June 2.
The Madiwala police examined the CCTV footage in the vicinity and found a man going out of Pradeep’s flat on May 30 midnight. Rakshith is said to have sustained stab injuries on his right hand. A police officer told TNIE, “The caretaker told us that the victim was a woman. As the body had decomposed, the stab injuries were not visible.
We thought the person may have died of a heart attack. The post-mortem revealed the victim was a man and had been stabbed. Our investigation revealed the victim was a cross-dresser. The victim often invited men to his flat. Pradeep had met the accused when he had hired his auto.” Building caretaker Suresh said that the owner of the building, Srinivas lives in Chintamani. Madiwala police have registered a case.