BENGALURU: An open window, an unknown cause of a fire, and a missing mobile phone of a woman software engineer, who was initially suspected to have died of asphyxiation in a fire accident at her apartment, led the police to crack the rape and murder case.
An 18-year-old second PU student, who was living next door, has been arrested for strangling the woman to death after allegedly raping her. He tried to destroy evidence and also portray the murder as a death in a fire accident.
The accused, Karnal Kurai from Kodagu, is a second PU student at a private college. He was a neighbour of the 34-year-old techie who was from Dakshina Kannada and stayed in Subramanya Layout, Ramamurthy Nagar.
The police said that on January 3 night, the Fire and Emergency Services and the police received a call around 10.45 pm about a fire on the third floor of the apartment. Police and fire personnel rushed to the spot, doused the fire, and recovered the woman’s body. Initially, it was suspected that she had died due to asphyxiation.
Open window, missing phone and no fire source lead police to accused
However, the police, especially the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team, grew suspicious because of multiple factors. There was no clear source of fire, such as a short circuit or gas explosion.
The window of the room where the body was found was open, raising doubts about death due to asphyxiation. The body was not found in her bedroom but her flatmate’s room and the flatmate was not in town when the incident occurred.
Moreover, the deceased’s mobile phone was missing. The police were also puzzled how the accused entered the house, as it was locked from inside.
Set fire to destroy evidence
The police said that a friend of the deceased filed a complaint, expressing suspicion over her death, following which an investigation was taken up. Based on technical evidence and tracing the missing mobile phone of the deceased, the police picked up Kurai.
During questioning, he revealed that he had entered the house around 9 pm through a sliding window with the intention of obtaining sexual favours. When the deceased refused to cooperate, he allegedly raped her. When she resisted, he forcibly covered her mouth and nose with his hands and she lost consciousness.
She had also sustained bleeding injuries. Scared that he would be caught, Kurai tried to destroy evidence by setting fire to the victim’s body and other stuff in the room. He took the victim’s mobile phone and fled the scene.
When the police traced the mobile phone, it led them to Kurai and he was arrested on Saturday (January 10). A preliminary probe established that he was trying to get close to the victim, but she had turned down his advances.
The police have registered a case under Sections 103 (murder), 64 (punishment for rape), 66 (punishment for causing death or vegetative state in aggravated sexual assault cases), and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the BNS.