BENGALURU: A 43-year-old senior geologist in the Department of Mines and Geology was found murdered with her throat slit at her residence in Doddakallasandra in Subramanyapura police station limits on Sunday morning. The motive for the murder is yet to be ascertained and the police have formed three special teams to crack the case.
The deceased, Prathima KS, hailed from Thirthahalli in Shivamogga. She joined the Mines and Geology department about 15 years ago and was currently working in the department’s Bengaluru Urban unit located at Visvesvaraya Towers near Vidhana Soudha. She has been living alone on the first floor of an independent house next to the Gokulam apartment complex in Doddakallasandra for the last 10 years, while her husband and son live in Thirthahalli.
The police said that Prathima was at her office till 6.30 pm on Saturday after which she was dropped home in her official vehicle. The incident came to light on Sunday at around 7.45 a.m. when her brother Prateesh, who had tried to contact her over the phone since Saturday night, came to check on her as she was not answering his calls. She was found lying in a pool of blood in the house and the police were alerted.
DCP (South) Rahul Kumar Shahapurwad said the assailants had murdered the woman by strangulating and slitting her throat. “We have formed three special teams to crack the case and are investigating the murder from all angles. The motive behind the murder is yet to be established,” he said. The police, at this stage, ruled out the possibility of murder for gain as the killers had not searched for valuables in her house.
‘No threats to life because of work’
Crime officers from the Forensic Science Laboratory and sniffer dog squad were pressed into service. Police Commissioner B Dayananda and other senior police officers visited the spot. Sources said there was no CCTV camera installed in the building where Prathima was residing.
“There are no CCTV cameras for about 100-200 meters from her house. We are analyzing the CCTV footage gathered from the locality to trace the assailants. As part of the investigation, her car driver and neighbors were questioned. We are probing multiple angles, including family dispute and personal enmity,” an officer said.
Prathima’s brother Prateesh said his sister had no enemies. “I spoke to her regularly and also on Saturday. But she has not answered my calls since 8.30 pm (Saturday). I came to check on her,” he lamented.
Bengaluru Urban District Deputy Commissioner Dayananda KA said Prathima was an officer with a positive mindset. “I held a meeting with the department officials a month ago and had instructed them to raid places where illegal mining is happening,” he said. There was no threat to her life because of the work, he said.
The Subramanyapura police have registered a murder case. In Mysuru, CM Siddaramaiah said he was gathering information about the incident from the officers.