

BENGALURU: A 21-year-old woman, who was found hanging at a rented house in Naganathapura on August 30, was allegedly smothered to death by her live-in partner, who tried to portray the killing as a suicide. The Parappana Agrahara police arrested him on Wednesday for allegedly killing her following a dispute over their relationship.
The deceased has been identified as Champoo Das, a homemaker. The accused, Manna Das, 28, worked at a shop in the city. Both are natives of Assam and had recently come to Bengaluru, where they were living together in a rented house in Naganathapura.
The police said that the duo had been in a relationship for over one-and-a-half years. On August 30, the house owner checked the room, found Champoo hanging inside and alerted the police.
The police sent the body for post-mortem examination and initially registered an Unnatural Death Report (UDR). However, the post-mortem report that came on September 15, stated that the “cause of death is due to asphyxia.” Following this, the police converted the case into a murder case.
The police detained Manna for questioning on Wednesday. The preliminary probe revealed that the duo had an altercation about their marriage and relationship, following which he allegedly smothered Champoo to death and then hanged her body before fleeing, the police said.